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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. track — a song
  4. rest — a break
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. spring — the season
  7. rest — what's left
  8. spring — of water
  9. rest — what's left
  10. spring — a coil
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. lie — to recline
  15. bark — to shout
  16. shower — to wash
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a path
  20. shower — rain
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. mine — for digging
  24. prune — to trim

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