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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. prune — to trim
  3. spring — a coil
  4. ground — a position
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. ground — the earth
  7. spring — of water
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cue — for pool
  13. spring — the season
  14. ground — crushed
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cue — a hint
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. prune — to trim
  19. tear — from crying
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. rush — hurry
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. wind — moving air
  24. rush — a thrill

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