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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. root — of a word
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. root — the cause
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — to wash
  15. drill — a practice
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. toast — bread
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. drill — army training
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. root — of a plant
  22. shower — rain
  23. drill — the tool
  24. arm — a part of something

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