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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. ground — crushed
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. ground — the earth
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. wind — moving air
  16. march — music
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. ground — a position
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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