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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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. chip — in a computer
  4. drill — a practice
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. lean — to bend
  8. chip — to eat
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — a coil
  13. lean — thin
  14. drill — the tool
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. drill — army training
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. chip — for betting
  23. spring — the season
  24. leaves — to go away

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