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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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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: prune · saw · ground · bass · bore · cap · tear · lean

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cap — a hat
  6. prune — to trim
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. tear — to rip
  9. ground — crushed
  10. lean — to bend
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — the earth
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. tear — from crying
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cap — a lid
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bass — low music
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bore — to tire

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