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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. march — the month
  5. squash — to crush
  6. wind — moving air
  7. present — a gift
  8. march — the month
  9. present — there
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to bend
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. squash — the sport
  15. content — the amount
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. march — music
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. present — the time now
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — happy

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