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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  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. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. content — happy
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. land — ground
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. land — to come down
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. content — the amount
  17. land — a country
  18. cell — a phone
  19. capital — a city
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. deal — to handle
  22. dip — to sink
  23. hide — animal skin
  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