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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. prune — to trim
  3. firm — decided
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bear — the animal
  6. firm — steady
  7. face — part of the head
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. firm — a company
  10. root — of a plant
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. kid — child
  14. face — to confront
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. root — of a word
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a ring
  20. face — to point toward
  21. bear — the animal
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. root — the cause
  24. band — a music group

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