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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 124 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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. cold — not warm
  9. branch — a division
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. prune — to trim
  12. band — a music group
  13. cold — an illness
  14. band — a ring
  15. sharp — clever
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. dip — to sink
  18. cue — a signal
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cue — for pool
  24. lash — an eyelash

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