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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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. kid — to tease
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. spell — letters
  6. press — newspapers
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. net — after costs
  9. chair — a leader
  10. game — a match
  11. spell — a short time
  12. net — for catching
  13. game — wild animals
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. spell — magic
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. press — to push
  23. press — a publisher
  24. net — in sport

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