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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: can · bay · present · bear · spell · wound · cold · prune

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. present — there
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. prune — to trim
  7. can — to be able to
  8. spell — magic
  9. present — the time now
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bear — the animal
  16. present — a gift
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cold — an illness
  19. can — a tin
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — a short time
  23. cold — not warm
  24. can — a tin

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