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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. spring — a coil
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. wound — an injury
  8. last — final
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. spring — of water
  13. tear — to rip
  14. last — finally
  15. chair — a leader
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. last — to go on
  21. spring — the season
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. rush — hurry
  24. tear — from crying

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