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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. staff — employees
  3. can — a tin
  4. saw — the tool
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. cold — an illness
  7. can — to be able to
  8. staff — a stick
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. cold — not warm
  11. can — a tin
  12. game — wild animals
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. prune — to trim
  15. kick — in football
  16. staff — employees
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. game — a match
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. saw — the tool

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