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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. march — the month
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rock — music
  7. march — the month
  8. suit — to fit
  9. march — music
  10. game — a match
  11. fall — the season
  12. wind — moving air
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. suit — clothes
  15. rock — a stone
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. game — wild animals
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. fall — to drop
  23. suit — in cards
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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