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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 124 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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pit — a hole
  4. spring — the season
  5. prune — to trim
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. sharp — clever
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. shower — rain
  10. pit — in a race
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. object — an aim
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. object — to protest
  17. prune — to trim
  18. object — a thing
  19. date — the fruit
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. spring — a coil
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. spring — of water
  24. chair — a leader

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