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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 116 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mate — a friend
  3. file — a line of people
  4. mate — to breed
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. root — of a word
  7. file — a tool
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. mate — a partner
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. root — of a plant
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bass — the fish
  17. vault — a safe
  18. file — a document
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. bass — low music
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. root — the cause

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