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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: wake · row · pop · ball · mine · nail · prune · pitcher

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. row — a line
  3. wake — a trail
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. pop — to visit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. ball — a great time
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. ball — a dance
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. mine — for digging
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. prune — to trim
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — soda

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