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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 116 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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. prune — to trim
  3. last — final
  4. prune — to trim
  5. race — a contest
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. race — the arms race
  8. spring — of water
  9. tear — from crying
  10. craft — a skill
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. craft — boats
  13. race — humankind
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. spring — a coil
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. tear — to rip
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. bat — the animal
  23. tear — from crying
  24. craft — a handicraft

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