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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. lean — to bend
  3. pop — music
  4. prune — to trim
  5. net — after costs
  6. plane — a tool
  7. lean — thin
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — for catching
  13. squash — the sport
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. pop — to visit
  16. branch — a division
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. squash — to crush
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. pop — soda
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — in sport
  24. plane — an aircraft

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