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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bear — the animal
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mark — a trace
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mark — a grade
  9. spring — the season
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pop — soda
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. pop — music
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. spring — of water
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. pop — to visit
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — money
  24. bat — the animal

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