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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. tear — from crying
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. pass — a permit
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bound — tied together
  8. craft — boats
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. race — a contest
  14. bound — certain
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. race — humankind
  17. tear — to rip
  18. craft — a skill
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. race — the arms race
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pound — a weight

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