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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. kid — child
  3. spring — of water
  4. bear — the animal
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — for catching
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. net — after costs
  9. ground — crushed
  10. kid — to tease
  11. ground — a position
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. prune — to trim
  15. ground — the earth
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bear — the animal
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. spring — the season
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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