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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. field — farmland
  3. stand — to bear
  4. prune — to trim
  5. field — for sport
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. field — a subject
  8. tube — a container
  9. pass — a permit
  10. tube — the underground
  11. lean — thin
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. kid — to tease
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. lean — to bend

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