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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. spring — of water
  3. fine — high quality
  4. tear — to rip
  5. squash — the sport
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. vault — a safe
  9. spell — letters
  10. fine — all right
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. spell — magic
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. prune — to trim
  15. tear — from crying
  16. spell — a short time
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. tear — from crying
  20. squash — to crush
  21. spring — a coil
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. spring — the season
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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