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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bear — the animal
  4. mate — to breed
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — a contest
  7. roll — a cake
  8. chest — of your body
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. mate — a friend
  11. bear — the animal
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chest — a box
  14. roll — a list
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. race — humankind
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. wind — moving air
  24. mate — a partner

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