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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. prune — to trim
  3. capital — money
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. fall — to drop
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. squash — the sport
  8. capital — a city
  9. march — the month
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. fall — to drop
  14. squash — to crush
  15. prune — to trim
  16. fall — the season
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. capital — a big letter

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