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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bear — the animal
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. rest — a break
  6. bass — the fish
  7. court — for sport
  8. bear — the animal
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bass — low music
  11. pop — soda
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — of law
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. cold — an illness
  18. prune — to trim
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. pop — music
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bear — to put up with

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