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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. content — happy
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. fall — the season
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. fall — to drop
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bat — the animal
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. content — the amount
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. fall — to drop

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