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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. stand — to bear
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. row — a line
  8. track — to keep track
  9. row — to paddle
  10. wake — a trail
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. prune — to trim
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. track — a path
  20. track — a song
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. kid — child
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. fall — the season

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