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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. key — the most important part
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. face — part of the head
  6. can — to be able to
  7. face — to point toward
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. face — to confront
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. can — a tin
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. content — happy
  16. key — in music
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. content — the amount
  20. key — for a lock
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. mine — for digging
  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