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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. club — for dancing
  3. prune — to trim
  4. swing — to play on
  5. capital — a city
  6. cue — for pool
  7. track — a path
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. club — for golf
  10. track — a song
  11. swing — in golf
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — money
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. track — to keep track
  17. swing — music
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. cue — a hint
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — to wash
  22. club — a group
  23. cue — a signal
  24. deal — to handle

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