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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. bat — the animal
  3. mark — a trace
  4. swing — music
  5. prune — to trim
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. root — of a word
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mark — a grade
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. kid — to tease
  18. root — of a plant
  19. tube — the underground
  20. swing — in golf
  21. kid — child
  22. row — a line
  23. root — the cause
  24. tube — a container

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