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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. snap — to click
  3. pop — music
  4. ground — the earth
  5. track — a song
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. track — a path
  9. ground — crushed
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. track — to keep track
  12. pop — to visit
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pop — soda
  15. ground — a position
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wound — an injury

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