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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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. prune — to trim
  4. hand — help
  5. field — for sport
  6. pop — music
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bound — tied together
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bound — obliged
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pop — soda
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — a subject
  22. fork — in a road
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bound — certain

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