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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. charge — electricity
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. track — a path
  8. track — to keep track
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the sport
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wake — a trail
  15. track — a song
  16. press — to push
  17. charge — a price
  18. charge — in control
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. press — a publisher
  21. kick — in football
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. press — newspapers

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