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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 120 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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. prune — to trim
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. squash — the sport
  7. kick — in football
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. game — a match
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. scale — in music
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. lean — thin
  15. scale — size or range
  16. squash — to crush
  17. game — wild animals
  18. lean — to bend
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. coach — a trainer

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