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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 116 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ball — a dance
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cue — a hint
  5. object — a thing
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. ground — a position
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. object — an aim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. object — to protest
  13. stem — to come from
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cue — a signal
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. cue — for pool
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. rush — hurry
  21. ground — the earth
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. ball — a great time
  24. wind — to turn a key

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