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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. object — an aim
  3. file — a line of people
  4. key — in music
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. key — the most important part
  8. bat — the animal
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. stock — goods
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. prune — to trim
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — a thing
  19. stock — shares
  20. file — a document
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. file — a tool

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