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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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. prune — to trim
  6. press — a publisher
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. field — farmland
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. bat — the animal
  11. band — a ring
  12. press — newspapers
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. field — a subject
  16. row — to paddle
  17. band — a music group
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. press — to push
  20. row — a line
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. field — for sport
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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