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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. bear — the animal
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. squash — to crush
  7. court — of law
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bear — the animal
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — a series
  20. squash — the sport
  21. pitch — completely
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. rash — on the skin

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