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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cue — a hint
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. prune — to trim
  6. pitch — completely
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. hand — help
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cue — a signal
  12. squash — to crush
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. squash — the sport
  17. cue — for pool
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. hand — in cards
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. rush — hurry
  24. mine — for digging

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