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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. band — a music group
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. pit — a hole
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pit — in a race
  18. content — the amount
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. content — happy
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. prune — to trim
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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