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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: prune · saw · pitcher · kid · trunk · date · rest · mine

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. saw — the tool
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. rest — what's left
  7. date — the fruit
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. kid — child
  11. rest — a break
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. rest — what's left
  23. mine — for digging
  24. pitcher — a jug

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