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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rock — music
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. mark — a trace
  6. pit — in a race
  7. prune — to trim
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. spring — the season
  14. rock — a stone
  15. toast — bread
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. pit — a hole
  20. spring — of water
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. mark — a grade
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bark — to shout

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