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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 120 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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. prune — to trim
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. spring — of water
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. sharp — clever
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. spring — the season
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rash — a series
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bass — low music
  23. spring — a coil
  24. straw — a straw man

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