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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 116 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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. pit — a hole
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — to visit
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rock — music
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. prune — to trim
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. cold — an illness
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. mine — for digging
  22. pop — music
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pit — in a race

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