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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — a stick
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cold — not warm
  11. roll — a cake
  12. hand — help
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — for light
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. roll — a list
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. squash — the sport
  20. staff — employees
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. roll — on a roll

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