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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. present — a gift
  3. prune — to trim
  4. craft — boats
  5. lean — to bend
  6. rash — hasty
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. wake — a trail
  10. lean — thin
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. rash — a series
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. fork — in a road
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. present — the time now
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. march — the month
  22. present — there
  23. craft — a skill
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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