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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  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. prune — to trim
  2. staff — a stick
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. staff — employees
  9. object — a thing
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. object — to protest
  14. staff — employees
  15. face — to confront
  16. prune — to trim
  17. season — of the year
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. object — an aim
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. face — to point toward
  23. season — in sport
  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