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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. date — the fruit
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. pit — a hole
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. object — to protest
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. hand — help
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. object — a thing
  16. pit — in a race
  17. hand — in cards
  18. prune — to trim
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. object — an aim

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