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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cap — a hat
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wind — moving air
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a lid
  9. prune — to trim
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. net — in sport
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. net — after costs
  17. wind — moving air
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. net — for catching
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. pitcher — a jug

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