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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 116 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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. prune — to trim
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. spring — the season
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. spring — a coil
  8. cell — a phone
  9. spring — of water
  10. rest — what's left
  11. row — a line
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. rush — hurry
  14. squash — to crush
  15. row — to paddle
  16. rest — a break
  17. prune — to trim
  18. squash — the sport
  19. firm — steady
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cell — in biology
  23. rest — what's left
  24. firm — decided

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