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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. mark — a grade
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. race — the arms race
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cap — of ice
  8. race — a contest
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. race — humankind
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cap — a hat
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. cell — a phone
  18. mark — a trace
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. capital — money
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cell — in a prison

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