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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 120 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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. pop — to visit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. spring — the season
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — music
  7. wind — moving air
  8. staff — a stick
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spring — of water
  11. land — ground
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. current — happening now
  14. current — electric
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. current — of water
  18. land — a country
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. prune — to trim
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — employees
  23. land — to come down
  24. spring — a coil

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