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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 124 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: band · saw · pop · key · cold · file · hide · prune

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. saw — the tool
  4. key — for a lock
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. file — a document
  8. saw — the tool
  9. file — a tool
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. pop — to visit
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. key — in music
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pop — soda
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. key — the most important part
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a music group
  21. pop — music
  22. prune — to trim
  23. file — a line of people
  24. cold — not warm

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