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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. land — ground
  3. cold — an illness
  4. press — to push
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. present — the time now
  7. land — a country
  8. present — a gift
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. press — a publisher
  15. press — newspapers
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. cold — not warm
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. present — there
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. land — to come down
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. mouse — 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