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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 120 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. wind — moving air
  3. prune — to trim
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — the earth
  6. key — in music
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — in biology
  9. key — the most important part
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. wind — moving air
  12. key — for a lock
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. cell — a phone
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. ground — crushed
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. row — to paddle
  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