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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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. sharp — exactly
  4. prune — to trim
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. pit — in a race
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. bulb — for light
  11. pit — a hole
  12. cold — not warm
  13. wake — a trail
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. bulb — for light
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — to crush
  20. sharp — clever
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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