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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 you need a ________________ with that?
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. prune — to trim
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. rash — a series
  9. march — music
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bass — the fish
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. march — the month
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. kick — in football
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. rush — hurry
  19. march — the month
  20. bass — low music
  21. prune — to trim
  22. saw — the tool
  23. rash — hasty
  24. saw — the tool

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