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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. kick — in football
  3. swing — to play on
  4. prune — to trim
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. prune — to trim
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. spring — of water
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. last — finally
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spring — the season
  15. wind — moving air
  16. swing — music
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. squash — the sport
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. spring — a coil
  21. last — final
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. last — to go on
  24. swing — in golf

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