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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. prune — to trim
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. toast — bread
  5. prune — to trim
  6. squash — the sport
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. squash — to crush
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — help
  12. court — of law
  13. row — to paddle
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. pitch — completely
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. snap — to click
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. row — a line
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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