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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. cold — an illness
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mate — a partner
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. net — after costs
  9. drill — army training
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bear — the animal
  13. mate — a friend
  14. drill — a practice
  15. bear — the animal
  16. mate — to breed
  17. net — in sport
  18. drill — the tool
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a ring
  23. lie — to recline
  24. band — a music group

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