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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. prune — to trim
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. object — to protest
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. prune — to trim
  10. face — to point toward
  11. rush — hurry
  12. face — part of the head
  13. face — to confront
  14. object — an aim
  15. snap — to click
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. object — a thing
  20. cell — a phone
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cell — in biology

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