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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. squash — to crush
  6. object — an aim
  7. hand — help
  8. object — to protest
  9. squash — the sport
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. object — a thing
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. prune — to trim
  16. hand — in cards
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. pop — music
  20. pop — soda
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pop — to visit

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