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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 124 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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. roll — a cake
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. hand — help
  9. can — to be able to
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. can — a tin
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. bat — the animal
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. prune — to trim
  21. roll — a list
  22. vault — a safe
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. can — a tin

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