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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. net — after costs
  4. spring — of water
  5. bear — the animal
  6. net — for catching
  7. prune — to trim
  8. court — for sport
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bat — the animal
  12. court — of law
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. foot — a measure
  15. court — of a king
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — obliged
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. bound — tied together
  21. net — in sport
  22. prune — to trim
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. spring — the season

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