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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.

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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: wound · roll · bear · kid · chest · prune · saw · ruler

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. roll — a cake
  3. wound — an injury
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. kid — to tease
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bear — the animal
  8. roll — a list
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. bear — the animal
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. saw — the tool
  14. kid — child
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. chest — a box
  17. saw — the tool
  18. chest — of your body
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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