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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. saw — the tool
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. present — the time now
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — money
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — ground
  12. present — there
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. tear — from crying
  15. capital — a city
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. prune — to trim
  21. present — a gift
  22. drill — a practice
  23. saw — the tool
  24. land — a country

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