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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pass — a permit
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. squash — the sport
  10. prune — to trim
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. bear — the animal
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bear — the animal
  15. cold — not warm
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. cold — an illness
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. hand — in cards

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