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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. present — a gift
  4. prune — to trim
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. field — for sport
  7. cell — in biology
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. present — there
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bass — low music
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. prune — to trim
  18. lie — to recline
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cell — a phone
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. bass — the fish
  24. present — the time now

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