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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pop — music
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. pop — to visit
  5. squash — to crush
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. file — a tool
  10. squash — the sport
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a leader
  13. tear — to rip
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. pop — soda
  16. tear — from crying
  17. file — a document
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. tear — from crying
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. file — a line of people
  24. prune — to trim

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