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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. board — to get on
  3. bear — the animal
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. board — a committee
  12. key — the most important part
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bat — the animal
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. clip — for paper
  19. key — in music
  20. clip — to cut
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. fall — the season
  23. key — for a lock
  24. clip — a video

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