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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
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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: land · saw · ball · mouse · march · fall · prune · cap

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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. march — music
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. fall — to drop
  6. land — ground
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. march — the month
  11. ball — a great time
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. land — a country
  18. fall — the season
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a lid
  22. land — to come down
  23. march — the month
  24. fall — to drop

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