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

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. bear — the animal
  4. cell — in biology
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. race — the arms race
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bear — the animal
  10. prune — to trim
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — after costs
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — to crush
  15. net — for catching
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. cell — in a prison

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