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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. can — a tin
  6. bulb — for light
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. scale — in music
  13. field — a subject
  14. scale — size or range
  15. field — farmland
  16. bulb — for light
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. mine — for digging
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. field — for sport
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. can — a tin

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