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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. last — to go on
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. lean — to bend
  6. scale — in music
  7. tube — the underground
  8. lean — thin
  9. last — finally
  10. wind — moving air
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. tube — a container
  15. last — final
  16. bat — the animal
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. scale — size or range
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. bay — a horse colour

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