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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. row — a line
  4. prune — to trim
  5. rash — a series
  6. file — a line of people
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. deal — to handle
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. band — a music group
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. ball — a dance
  16. row — to paddle
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a tool
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. band — a ring
  21. ball — a great time
  22. rash — hasty
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. rash — on the skin

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