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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — in a race
  6. can — to be able to
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. net — in sport
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. can — a tin
  13. prune — to trim
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. wind — moving air
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — after costs
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — not warm
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wind — moving air
  24. can — a tin

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