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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: face · pass · pound · kick · squash · prune · mine · content

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. content — happy
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. prune — to trim
  5. kick — in football
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — for digging
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. pound — a weight
  12. squash — to crush
  13. face — part of the head
  14. prune — to trim
  15. content — the amount
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. pass — a permit
  20. squash — the sport
  21. face — to point toward
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. face — to confront
  24. mine — belonging to me

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