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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — hasty
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. track — to keep track
  7. track — a song
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. rash — a series
  10. prune — to trim
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bound — certain
  13. track — a path
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cold — an illness
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bound — tied together
  21. wound — an injury
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. bear — the animal
  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