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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. club — for golf
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — for digging
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. prune — to trim
  9. roll — a cake
  10. chest — of your body
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. roll — a list
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. club — a group
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. club — for dancing
  23. chest — a box
  24. fall — the season

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