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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. pop — to visit
  3. tear — from crying
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. mark — a grade
  6. prune — to trim
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mark — a trace
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. prune — to trim
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. toast — bread
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. pop — music
  20. pop — soda
  21. snap — to click
  22. tear — to rip
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. roll — a list

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