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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. spring — a coil
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pop — soda
  6. suit — clothes
  7. spring — the season
  8. clip — for paper
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. clip — to cut
  11. suit — in cards
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. pop — music
  15. suit — to fit
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. pop — to visit
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bear — the animal
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. spring — of water
  23. clip — a video
  24. wound — an injury

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