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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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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: fall · swing · file · bay · kid · pop · plane · prune

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — to visit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. file — a tool
  5. swing — in golf
  6. file — a line of people
  7. swing — to play on
  8. fall — the season
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. pop — music
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. file — a document
  14. swing — music
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kid — to tease
  17. prune — to trim
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. fall — to drop
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. plane — a tool

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