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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 116 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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. spring — a coil
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. drill — army training
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. can — to be able to
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — a tin
  14. rash — a series
  15. snap — to click
  16. drill — the tool
  17. rash — hasty
  18. spring — the season
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. drill — a practice
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. spring — of water
  24. prune — the fruit

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