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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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. stand — to bear
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fall — to drop
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. hand — help
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — a weight
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. hand — in cards
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. pop — to visit
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — ground
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. land — a country
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — soda
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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