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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. kid — child
  5. row — a line
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. mate — a friend
  9. row — to paddle
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bear — the animal
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. prune — to trim
  16. spring — the season
  17. mate — a partner
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. kid — to tease
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. mate — to breed
  24. lash — an eyelash

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