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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. squash — to crush
  4. prune — to trim
  5. band — a music group
  6. pop — to visit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. firm — a company
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bulb — for light
  11. row — to paddle
  12. pop — music
  13. band — a ring
  14. firm — decided
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bulb — for light
  17. pop — soda
  18. row — a line
  19. file — a line of people
  20. squash — the sport
  21. file — a tool
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. file — a document
  24. firm — steady

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