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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. rule — a law
  5. key — the most important part
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. suit — in cards
  10. mine — for digging
  11. key — for a lock
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. suit — to fit
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. key — in music
  16. rule — government
  17. prune — to trim
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. suit — clothes
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — a trail
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. bat — the animal

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