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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. lean — to bend
  5. can — to be able to
  6. lean — thin
  7. tear — from crying
  8. prune — to trim
  9. present — there
  10. land — ground
  11. wind — moving air
  12. can — a tin
  13. present — the time now
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. can — a tin
  16. land — a country
  17. present — a gift
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wind — moving air
  20. tear — to rip
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. mark — a trace
  24. land — to come down

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