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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 120 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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. content — happy
  3. prune — to trim
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cue — a hint
  7. track — a song
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cold — not warm
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. track — to keep track
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. cue — for pool
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. cold — an illness
  17. track — a path
  18. bear — the animal
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. cue — a signal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. content — the amount
  24. lash — an eyelash

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