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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. present — a gift
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. club — for golf
  6. stand — to bear
  7. prune — to trim
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — employees
  10. squash — to crush
  11. tear — from crying
  12. club — a group
  13. squash — the sport
  14. present — the time now
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wound — an injury
  17. club — for dancing
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. tear — to rip
  22. present — there
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. tear — from crying

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