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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  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. cold — the Cold War
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bulb — for light
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. cold — an illness
  13. deal — to handle
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bulb — for light
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cold — not warm
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. rest — what's left
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wake — a trail
  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