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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. prune — to trim
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. object — an aim
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. object — to protest
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. object — a thing
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. race — humankind
  18. wave — of the sea

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