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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. court — of law
  4. staff — employees
  5. kick — in football
  6. court — for sport
  7. cap — of ice
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. fall — to drop
  10. prune — to trim
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. key — in music
  13. staff — a stick
  14. cap — a lid
  15. staff — employees
  16. court — of a king
  17. ball — a great time
  18. ball — a dance
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cap — a hat
  21. key — for a lock
  22. key — the most important part
  23. fall — the season
  24. ball — a round shape

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