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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. game — wild animals
  4. tear — from crying
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. tear — to rip
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. bulb — for light
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bulb — for light
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. tear — from crying
  20. prune — to trim
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. game — a match
  24. bulb — of a plant

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