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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 124 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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. staff — a stick
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. spell — magic
  6. current — happening now
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. spell — a short time
  9. staff — employees
  10. current — electric
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rash — a series
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. staff — employees
  16. rash — hasty
  17. spell — letters
  18. current — of water
  19. clip — a video
  20. prune — to trim
  21. chair — a leader
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bear — the animal

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