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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 124 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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wind — moving air
  5. prune — to trim
  6. roll — a cake
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cell — in biology
  9. deal — to handle
  10. kid — child
  11. land — a country
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. squash — the sport
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. kid — to tease
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. land — to come down
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. roll — a list
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. squash — to crush
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. land — ground

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