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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. can — a tin
  3. fall — the season
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. pound — a weight
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bat — the animal
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. rash — hasty
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. mine — for digging
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. can — a tin
  20. prune — to trim
  21. toast — bread
  22. rash — a series
  23. can — to be able to
  24. prune — the fruit

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