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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. spring — of water
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — employees
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. spring — the season
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. prune — to trim
  17. staff — a stick
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. perch — the fish
  20. pound — a weight
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. rush — hurry
  24. spring — a coil

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