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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. swing — to play on
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. prune — to trim
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. tube — a container
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. pit — a hole
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cell — in biology
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bat — the animal
  15. pit — in a race
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. swing — music
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — a phone
  21. swing — in golf
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. branch — a division

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