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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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. spell — letters
  4. march — the month
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bear — the animal
  7. tear — from crying
  8. march — music
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. root — of a plant
  11. mark — a trace
  12. bear — the animal
  13. tear — from crying
  14. spell — magic
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. tear — to rip
  17. mark — a grade
  18. last — to go on
  19. march — the month
  20. spell — a short time
  21. last — final
  22. root — the cause
  23. root — of a word
  24. last — finally

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