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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. track — a song
  6. track — to keep track
  7. bear — the animal
  8. drill — the tool
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. band — a music group
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — army training
  18. prune — to trim
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. band — a ring
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. track — a path
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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