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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. capital — a city
  3. pop — soda
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — to visit
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. capital — money
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wake — a trail
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. chest — of your body
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. vault — a safe
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. chest — of your body
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. chest — a box

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