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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. prune — to trim
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. charge — in control
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pitch — completely
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. charge — electricity
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. bat — the animal
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. lean — to bend
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. lean — thin
  22. charge — a price
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cold — not warm

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