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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. content — the amount
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. prune — to trim
  7. race — a contest
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. date — the fruit
  11. fall — the season
  12. race — the arms race
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — for digging
  17. race — humankind
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. snap — to click
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. fall — to drop
  23. content — happy
  24. fall — to drop

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