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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. sharp — clever
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. tear — from crying
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. season — of the year
  10. tear — to rip
  11. row — to paddle
  12. land — to come down
  13. tear — from crying
  14. vault — a safe
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. land — a country
  18. land — ground
  19. season — in sport
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. row — a line
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. prune — to trim

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