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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rest — what's left
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bear — the animal
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. rest — a break
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bound — tied together
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — help
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. bound — certain
  24. cold — the Cold War

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