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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. prune — to trim
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. scale — in music
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. fall — to drop
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. land — ground
  14. scale — size or range
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. prune — to trim
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — a country
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. content — happy
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — hasty
  23. content — the amount
  24. prune — the fruit

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