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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. drill — the tool
  4. band — a ring
  5. bear — the animal
  6. band — a music group
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. drill — army training
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bear — the animal
  15. land — a country
  16. object — an aim
  17. drill — a practice
  18. object — to protest
  19. prune — to trim
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. object — a thing
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — ground

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