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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pitch — completely
  3. fall — to drop
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. fall — to drop
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. vault — a safe
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. capital — a city
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. fall — the season
  20. game — a match
  21. game — wild animals
  22. prune — to trim
  23. capital — money
  24. pitch — a sports field

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