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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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. hide — animal skin
  4. charge — a price
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. content — the amount
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. mine — for digging
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. content — happy
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. charge — electricity
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. charge — in control

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