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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. pop — music
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. fine — high quality
  9. face — part of the head
  10. prune — to trim
  11. land — ground
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fine — all right
  14. cold — an illness
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — a country
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. pass — a permit
  19. face — to confront
  20. pop — soda
  21. face — to point toward
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. pass — to succeed

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