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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 124 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. pitch — completely
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. rash — a series
  12. bear — the animal
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bear — the animal
  19. pound — a weight
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. wake — a trail
  24. mouse — 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