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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cue — a signal
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. lean — to bend
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cue — for pool
  11. lean — thin
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. current — of water
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wound — an injury
  16. current — happening now
  17. wound — an injury
  18. current — electric
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. prune — to trim
  23. toast — bread
  24. prune — to trim

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