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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 120 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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. game — a match
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. prune — to trim
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. rest — what's left
  10. tear — from crying
  11. game — wild animals
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. pitch — completely
  16. tear — to rip
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. tear — from crying

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