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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: mine · face · prune · pit · chair · rest · racket · tear

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. face — part of the head
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. rest — what's left
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. tear — to rip
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. pit — in a race
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. rest — a break
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. chair — a leader
  18. prune — to trim
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. rest — what's left
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — to point toward
  24. pit — a hole

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