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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. prune — to trim
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. kid — to tease
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wake — a trail
  14. kid — child
  15. spring — a coil
  16. pitch — completely
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. spring — of water
  21. rule — a law
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. spring — the season
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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