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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bear · squash · cold · prune · rock · mouse

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. bear — the animal
  4. squash — the sport
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. rock — music
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. rock — a stone
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bear — the animal
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness

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