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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: racket · row · present · staff · key · prune · wind · lie

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. prune — to trim
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. prune — to trim
  7. staff — employees
  8. present — there
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. row — a line
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. staff — employees
  13. key — for a lock
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. wind — moving air
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. row — to paddle
  20. present — the time now
  21. staff — a stick
  22. key — the most important part
  23. wind — moving air
  24. key — in music

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