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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. race — a contest
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. squash — to crush
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. dip — to sink
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. shower — to wash
  13. race — humankind
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. sharp — clever
  17. squash — the sport
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. shower — rain
  20. toast — bread
  21. prune — to trim
  22. race — the arms race
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. squash — the vegetable

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