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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. cell — in biology
  3. prune — to trim
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mug — to rob
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. prune — to trim
  8. degree — from a university
  9. mug — a cup
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. clip — a video
  13. tear — to rip
  14. degree — an amount
  15. vault — a safe
  16. clip — for paper
  17. degree — temperature
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. mug — a face
  20. cell — a phone
  21. tear — from crying
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. clip — to cut
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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