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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. scale — in music
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. tube — the underground
  5. march — the month
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. mine — for digging
  8. row — a line
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. chest — a box
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. tube — a container
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. march — the month
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — size or range
  19. chest — of your body
  20. prune — to trim
  21. march — music
  22. row — to paddle
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. chest — of your body

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