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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wake — a trail
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wound — an injury
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. capital — money
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. prune — to trim
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. key — the most important part
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. capital — a city
  17. cold — not warm
  18. key — in music
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. key — for a lock
  22. dip — to sink
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. wound — an injury

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