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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pitch — completely
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. spring — the season
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. toast — bread
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. spring — a coil
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. spring — of water
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — a law
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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