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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. craft — boats
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mine — for digging
  7. spring — of water
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. ball — a great time
  10. craft — a skill
  11. ball — a dance
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. spring — the season
  14. wax — to grow
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. perch — the fish
  17. spring — a coil
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. bear — the animal
  23. prune — to trim
  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