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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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. prune — to trim
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. bear — the animal
  8. spring — of water
  9. capital — a city
  10. bear — the animal
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. swing — music
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. swing — to play on
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — a coil
  18. capital — money
  19. wake — a trail
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. swing — in golf
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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