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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. land — to come down
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. drill — the tool
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mug — a face
  7. mug — to rob
  8. rash — hasty
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. club — for golf
  11. kid — child
  12. drill — a practice
  13. club — a group
  14. land — ground
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. mug — a cup
  19. kid — to tease
  20. land — a country
  21. club — for dancing
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. drill — army training
  24. wake — a trail

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