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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. press — a publisher
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. prune — to trim
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — a coil
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. rash — a series
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. kid — to tease
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. kid — child
  17. press — newspapers
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. spring — the season
  22. press — to push
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. rash — on the skin

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