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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. squash — to crush
  3. can — to be able to
  4. stand — to bear
  5. key — in music
  6. squash — the sport
  7. date — the fruit
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. key — the most important part
  10. key — for a lock
  11. fall — to drop
  12. can — a tin
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. can — a tin
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. prune — to trim

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