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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. suit — in cards
  3. pit — in a race
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — ground
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to confront
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. land — a country
  16. tear — from crying
  17. suit — to fit
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. face — to point toward
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. pit — a hole
  22. suit — clothes
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — in cards

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