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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rest · tube · cold · object · prune · bear · hide · fan

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — the underground
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cold — an illness
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. bear — the animal
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. object — a thing
  11. cold — not warm
  12. object — to protest
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. bear — the animal
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. tube — a container
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — a break
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. prune — to trim
  22. rest — what's left
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. cold — the Cold War

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