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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: mine · shower · mate · firm · bear · prune · swing · face

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. face — part of the head
  4. swing — to play on
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mate — a friend
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. firm — a company
  10. mate — a partner
  11. face — to point toward
  12. face — to confront
  13. shower — rain
  14. mate — to breed
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. prune — to trim
  19. swing — music
  20. shower — to wash
  21. mine — for digging
  22. bear — the animal
  23. swing — in golf
  24. firm — steady

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