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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: saw · content · mine · hide · snap · pass · wind · prune

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. saw — the tool
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. pass — a permit
  8. saw — the tool
  9. content — the amount
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to click
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. content — happy
  24. prune — to trim

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com