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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 116 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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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: fall · prune · swing · tube · lie · tear · current · pit

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. fall — to drop
  4. swing — music
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. current — electric
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. lie — to recline
  9. swing — in golf
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. pit — a hole
  13. current — happening now
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. swing — to play on
  16. fall — the season
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — a container
  21. pit — in a race
  22. tear — from crying
  23. current — of water
  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