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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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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: prune · lie · mine · saw · snap · tear · content · leaves

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. prune — to trim
  3. content — happy
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mine — for digging
  7. lie — to recline
  8. snap — to click
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. saw — the tool
  11. tear — from crying
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. tear — to rip
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. prune — to trim
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. saw — the tool

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