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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. shower — to wash
  3. prune — to trim
  4. court — for sport
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. bear — the animal
  9. shower — rain
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. rock — a stone
  12. tube — the underground
  13. swing — to play on
  14. cap — a lid
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. cap — of ice
  18. court — of law
  19. swing — in golf
  20. court — of a king
  21. swing — music
  22. cap — a hat
  23. rock — music
  24. bear — the animal

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