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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. prune — to trim
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — to point toward
  5. wake — a trail
  6. race — a contest
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. tear — from crying
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. pop — music
  12. race — the arms race
  13. pop — soda
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. prune — to trim
  17. tear — from crying
  18. race — humankind
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. tear — to rip
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. pop — to visit
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. face — part of the head

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