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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 a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. court — of a king
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — thin
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. court — for sport
  11. can — a tin
  12. court — of law
  13. rash — a series
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. can — to be able to
  17. tube — the underground
  18. mine — for digging
  19. tube — a container
  20. can — a tin
  21. rash — hasty
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. lean — to rest against

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