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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — the season
  4. prune — to trim
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to click
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. spring — a coil
  9. rash — hasty
  10. present — the time now
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. present — there
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rash — a series
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. sharp — clever

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