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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. prune — to trim
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. swing — music
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. scale — size or range
  8. wind — moving air
  9. ground — a position
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. scale — in music
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. swing — in golf
  15. ground — the earth
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ground — crushed
  18. vault — a safe
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. prune — to trim
  24. swing — to play on

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