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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 120 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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. prune — to trim
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. pitch — completely
  7. present — there
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. plane — a tool
  15. present — a gift
  16. field — for sport
  17. staff — employees
  18. field — a subject
  19. staff — employees
  20. field — farmland
  21. staff — a stick
  22. present — the time now
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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