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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 120 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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. tube — a container
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. cap — a lid
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. cap — of ice
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — for digging
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. cap — a hat
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. foot — a measure
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. prune — to trim
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. tube — the underground
  24. bat — the animal

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