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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. staff — employees
  4. prune — to trim
  5. staff — a stick
  6. staff — employees
  7. band — a ring
  8. net — in sport
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. cold — an illness
  12. net — for catching
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. club — for golf
  15. club — a group
  16. band — a music group
  17. net — after costs
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. club — for dancing
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pitch — completely

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