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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. wound — an injury
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. rash — hasty
  5. bear — the animal
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — a trail
  8. prune — to trim
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. hand — help
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. mine — for digging
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. rash — a series

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