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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 120 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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bear — the animal
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. track — a song
  5. season — of the year
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. row — a line
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bear — the animal
  10. row — to paddle
  11. plane — a tool
  12. track — to keep track
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. track — a path
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. season — in sport
  20. content — happy
  21. prune — to trim
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. content — the amount
  24. racket — for tennis

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