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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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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: spring · cap · prune · bear · chest · squash · foot · degree

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bear — the animal
  6. chest — of your body
  7. spring — a coil
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. degree — an amount
  12. cap — a lid
  13. degree — temperature
  14. cap — a hat
  15. squash — to crush
  16. cap — of ice
  17. spring — the season
  18. prune — to trim
  19. foot — a measure
  20. squash — the sport
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. bear — the animal
  23. chest — a box
  24. foot — the bottom

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