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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 120 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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. scale — size or range
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cell — a phone
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cap — a lid
  11. fall — the season
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cap — a hat
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. scale — in music
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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