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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 not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. spring — a coil
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. kid — to tease
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. spring — the season
  14. kid — child
  15. rush — hurry
  16. suit — in cards
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. spring — of water
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mine — for digging
  22. suit — to fit
  23. suit — clothes
  24. stem — to come from

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