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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — hurry
  3. spring — the season
  4. prune — to trim
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. prune — to trim
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. spring — a coil
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. spring — of water
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. chest — a box
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. fork — in a road
  24. mine — belonging to me

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