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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 116 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  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. wake — before a funeral
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. prune — to trim
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. drill — a practice
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bulb — for light
  11. drill — the tool
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. bear — the animal
  14. wake — a trail
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bulb — for light
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. drill — army training
  19. squash — to crush
  20. squash — the sport
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. tear — to rip
  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