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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cue — a signal
  3. pit — a hole
  4. cue — a hint
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. wind — moving air
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — size or range
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. stock — shares
  11. race — a contest
  12. stock — goods
  13. vault — a safe
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cue — for pool
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. race — humankind
  20. pit — in a race
  21. scale — in music
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. race — the arms race

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