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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. suit — clothes
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. suit — in cards
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. game — wild animals
  13. suit — to fit
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. chair — a leader
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — a match
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. mine — for digging

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