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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. season — of the year
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. foot — a measure
  6. bulb — for light
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bulb — for light
  9. spring — of water
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. net — in sport
  14. saw — the tool
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. net — after costs
  19. prune — to trim
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. net — for catching
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. spring — the season
  24. season — in sport

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