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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. field — farmland
  3. lean — thin
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bear — the animal
  6. prune — to trim
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. saw — the tool
  9. field — for sport
  10. lean — to bend
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. snap — to click
  14. field — a subject
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — for digging
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — a division
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bear — the animal

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