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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wind — moving air
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wind — moving air
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. rash — a series
  8. kid — child
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. ground — crushed
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. rash — hasty
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. ground — a position
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. kid — to tease
  24. ground — the earth

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