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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: toast · sharp · prune · can · fall · ground · mine · land

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. land — ground
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. sharp — clever
  6. prune — to trim
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — for digging
  9. ground — the earth
  10. fall — the season
  11. can — to be able to
  12. fall — to drop
  13. can — a tin
  14. fall — to drop
  15. ground — crushed
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. ground — a position
  18. prune — to trim
  19. can — a tin
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. land — to come down
  22. toast — bread
  23. land — a country
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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