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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. march — the month
  7. prune — to trim
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. spring — of water
  11. club — for dancing
  12. march — music
  13. shower — rain
  14. spring — the season
  15. club — a group
  16. shower — to wash
  17. march — the month
  18. club — for golf
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. spring — a coil
  21. squash — the sport
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. squash — to crush
  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