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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. drill — the tool
  5. scale — size or range
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. wind — moving air
  8. last — to go on
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. mine — for digging
  14. last — finally
  15. drill — a practice
  16. last — final
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. rock — a stone
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. drill — army training
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. scale — in music
  24. rock — music

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