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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — in golf
  6. content — happy
  7. swing — to play on
  8. charge — in control
  9. prune — to trim
  10. content — the amount
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pit — in a race
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — help
  17. lean — to bend
  18. charge — electricity
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. lean — thin
  21. charge — a price
  22. pit — a hole
  23. wind — moving air
  24. prune — the fruit

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