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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. prune — to trim
  3. key — for a lock
  4. clip — for paper
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — a group
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. key — the most important part
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. stock — goods
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. pound — a weight
  17. lean — to bend
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. club — for golf
  20. lean — thin
  21. key — in music
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. stock — shares

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