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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 116 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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. craft — boats
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. staff — a stick
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cold — not warm
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. craft — a skill
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to sink
  18. staff — employees
  19. prune — to trim
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. staff — employees
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wind — moving air

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