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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. rash — hasty
  6. club — for golf
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. hand — help
  9. club — for dancing
  10. scale — in music
  11. stand — to bear
  12. scale — size or range
  13. fall — the season
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. land — to come down
  19. rash — a series
  20. land — a country
  21. fall — to drop
  22. club — a group
  23. land — ground
  24. hand — in cards

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