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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. bark — to shout
  4. stand — to bear
  5. scale — size or range
  6. cold — not warm
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. cold — an illness
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. prune — to trim
  19. pitch — completely
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. straw — dry grass

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