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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. spring — of water
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. mate — to breed
  7. cap — a hat
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. shower — to wash
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. cap — a lid
  13. mate — a partner
  14. stock — goods
  15. spring — the season
  16. mate — a friend
  17. shower — rain
  18. cap — of ice
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. sharp — clever
  22. saw — the tool
  23. spring — a coil
  24. prune — to trim

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