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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. can — to be able to
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. shower — to wash
  6. root — of a plant
  7. last — final
  8. shower — rain
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mine — for digging
  12. can — a tin
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. can — a tin
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. root — the cause
  17. root — of a word
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bore — to tire
  21. last — finally
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bear — the animal

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