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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 took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. spring — the season
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. spring — a coil
  6. pound — a weight
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. spring — of water
  13. prune — to trim
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. mine — for digging
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. tear — to rip
  19. swing — in golf
  20. tear — from crying
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — music
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. prune — the fruit

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