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

Word bank: tube · bear · prune · lash · present · tear · court · rest

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. court — of law
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. present — a gift
  9. court — for sport
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — a container
  12. present — there
  13. tear — to rip
  14. rest — what's left
  15. prune — to trim
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. tube — the underground
  18. prune — to trim
  19. tear — from crying
  20. present — the time now
  21. tear — from crying
  22. court — of a king
  23. bear — the animal
  24. lash — an eyelash

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