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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 116 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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. track — to keep track
  3. pitch — completely
  4. track — a song
  5. race — humankind
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. tear — from crying
  8. race — the arms race
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. key — the most important part
  12. tear — from crying
  13. key — for a lock
  14. key — in music
  15. track — a path
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. tear — to rip
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. prune — to trim
  22. race — a contest
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. straw — dry grass

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