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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. pitch — completely
  4. stand — to bear
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. spring — of water
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rash — a series
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. spring — the season
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. prune — to trim
  18. spring — a coil
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. rash — hasty
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — belonging to me

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