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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. field — farmland
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bat — the animal
  8. track — a song
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. club — for dancing
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. field — a subject
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. track — to keep track
  18. track — a path
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. club — a group
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. field — for sport
  23. prune — to trim
  24. club — for golf

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