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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. chest — a box
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mug — to rob
  5. pop — music
  6. mug — a face
  7. present — a gift
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — a line
  10. mug — a cup
  11. row — to paddle
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. pop — to visit
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. prune — to trim
  19. present — there
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. saw — the tool
  22. plane — a tool
  23. present — the time now
  24. prune — the fruit

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