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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 116 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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. face — part of the head
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. chip — to eat
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. face — to point toward
  8. land — to come down
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. face — to confront
  11. land — ground
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. content — happy
  16. stand — to bear
  17. land — a country
  18. kick — in football
  19. content — the amount
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. chip — for betting
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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