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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. hand — help
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. bear — the animal
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. prune — to trim
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bear — the animal
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. wound — an injury
  20. kick — in football
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a music group
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. hand — part of the body

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