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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. deal — to handle
  3. key — in music
  4. land — to come down
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. fall — to drop
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. key — the most important part
  10. stem — to come from
  11. game — wild animals
  12. land — a country
  13. fall — to drop
  14. land — ground
  15. game — a match
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. fall — the season
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. key — for a lock
  22. prune — to trim
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. pitch — completely

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