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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. band — a music group
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. bear — the animal
  8. mine — for digging
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. branch — a division
  15. prune — to trim
  16. band — a ring
  17. cap — a hat
  18. cap — of ice
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. lean — thin
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. lean — to bend
  23. band — a rubber band
  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