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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fall — to drop
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. fall — the season
  14. cell — in biology
  15. vault — a safe
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bear — the animal
  18. kid — child
  19. rest — what's left
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rest — a break
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. kid — to tease
  24. wind — moving air

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