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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. lean — to bend
  3. land — to come down
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. rest — what's left
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. rest — what's left
  8. present — the time now
  9. present — a gift
  10. present — there
  11. spring — the season
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. spring — of water
  14. rest — a break
  15. prune — to trim
  16. land — ground
  17. spring — a coil
  18. tube — the underground
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. land — a country
  24. lean — thin

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