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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 124 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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. pit — a hole
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. pit — in a race
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cell — in biology
  16. deal — to handle
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. plane — a tool
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. wind — moving air
  24. plane — an aircraft

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