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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. hand — help
  4. land — a country
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. mug — a face
  7. bear — the animal
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — newspapers
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. tube — a container
  14. mug — a cup
  15. mark — a trace
  16. bear — the animal
  17. press — to push
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. land — ground
  20. mug — to rob
  21. land — to come down
  22. prune — to trim
  23. tube — the underground
  24. mark — a grade

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