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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 120 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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. prune — to trim
  4. spring — a coil
  5. band — a ring
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. kid — child
  9. spring — the season
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. cap — of ice
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. root — of a plant
  15. cap — a hat
  16. spring — of water
  17. cap — a lid
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. vault — a safe
  20. root — the cause
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. root — of a word
  24. prune — to trim

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