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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rock — music
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bound — certain
  6. chest — a box
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. band — a ring
  12. chest — of your body
  13. band — a music group
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. rock — a stone
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bound — obliged
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — happy
  22. bound — tied together
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. deal — to handle

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