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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · plane · ball · straw · prune · pass · file · club

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. club — for golf
  3. prune — to trim
  4. club — a group
  5. pass — a permit
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. club — for dancing
  8. prune — to trim
  9. land — a country
  10. land — ground
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. file — a tool
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. plane — a tool
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a line of people
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. ball — a great time
  24. land — to come down

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