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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: rush · bore · hand · deal · fan · band · prune · file

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. hand — in cards
  3. prune — to trim
  4. band — a ring
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. hand — help
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a music group
  15. file — a tool
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. rush — hurry
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bore — to tire
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bore — to drill
  23. deal — to handle
  24. file — a document

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