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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. rush — hurry
  4. squash — the sport
  5. dip — to sink
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. suit — in cards
  10. suit — to fit
  11. net — after costs
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. prune — to trim
  14. squash — to crush
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. net — for catching
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. net — in sport
  21. wake — a trail
  22. suit — clothes
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a match

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