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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: deal · tube · pass · drill · prune · hand · wave · sharp

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. pass — a permit
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. drill — army training
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. hand — in cards
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. hand — help
  12. drill — the tool
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. deal — to handle
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. drill — a practice
  19. prune — to trim
  20. sharp — clever
  21. tube — the underground
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. tube — a container
  24. sharp — exactly

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