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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rest — what's left
  3. prune — to trim
  4. track — to keep track
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a city
  9. chest — a box
  10. rest — a break
  11. rest — what's left
  12. track — a song
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. track — a path
  18. plane — a tool

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