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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. kick — in football
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. field — for sport
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. rush — hurry
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kid — to tease
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — a trail
  18. field — farmland
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. prune — to trim
  21. field — a subject
  22. kid — child
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. pitcher — a jug

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