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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  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 — to trim
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — a phone
  5. mug — a face
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rash — hasty
  8. staff — employees
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. staff — a stick
  12. staff — employees
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. mug — a cup
  15. rash — a series
  16. fall — to drop
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. tube — the underground
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fall — the season
  21. mug — to rob
  22. cell — in biology
  23. fall — to drop
  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