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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. file — a document
  7. prune — to trim
  8. field — for sport
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. field — farmland
  12. rash — hasty
  13. field — a subject
  14. rash — a series
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. spring — a coil
  17. prune — to trim
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. spring — of water
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. bear — the animal
  24. spring — the season

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