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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. key — in music
  3. prune — to trim
  4. object — to protest
  5. field — for sport
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. field — a subject
  8. rule — a law
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. key — for a lock
  12. rule — government
  13. object — a thing
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. content — the amount
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. object — an aim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. pound — a weight
  21. key — the most important part
  22. content — happy
  23. field — farmland
  24. content — videos and posts

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