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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. fine — high quality
  5. plane — a tool
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. fine — all right
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — army training
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. drill — the tool
  15. prune — to trim
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. cap — a lid
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. cap — a hat
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. cap — of ice
  24. plane — in geometry

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