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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. bear — the animal
  4. hand — help
  5. pitch — completely
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. can — a tin
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. bear — the animal
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bat — the animal
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. can — a tin
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. can — to be able to

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