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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: rush · prune · pit · game · wake · saw · face · land

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to confront
  3. game — wild animals
  4. prune — to trim
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. pit — in a race
  7. land — ground
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. pit — a hole
  11. wake — a trail
  12. game — a match
  13. land — to come down
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. land — a country
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. rush — hurry
  24. face — to point toward

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