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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. capital — a city
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. pitch — completely
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. net — in sport
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. wind — moving air
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. net — for catching
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. net — after costs
  22. bat — the animal
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. wind — to turn a key

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