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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. content — happy
  3. swing — to play on
  4. rule — a law
  5. content — the amount
  6. prune — to trim
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. hand — help
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — government
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. swing — music
  14. fall — to drop
  15. swing — in golf
  16. fall — the season
  17. hand — in cards
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. fall — to drop

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