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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. lean — to bend
  4. roll — a cake
  5. squash — to crush
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. row — a line
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. lean — thin
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. cell — in biology
  21. squash — the sport
  22. roll — a list
  23. row — to paddle
  24. prune — to trim

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