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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. prune — to trim
  3. content — the amount
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. land — to come down
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. content — happy
  9. land — a country
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rash — hasty
  12. shower — to wash
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. file — a document
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. file — a tool
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. land — ground
  22. shower — rain
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rash — a series

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