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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 covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — crushed
  4. club — for golf
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. chest — of your body
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. spell — a short time
  9. chest — a box
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. ground — a position
  13. club — for dancing
  14. spell — letters
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. rash — a series
  18. chest — of your body
  19. club — a group
  20. scale — size or range
  21. spell — magic
  22. scale — in music
  23. rash — hasty
  24. prune — to trim

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