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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 116 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: bear · content · present · pit · ground · wake · hand · prune

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — there
  6. content — the amount
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. hand — in cards
  9. prune — to trim
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — happy
  12. ground — a position
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. ground — the earth
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pit — in a race
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. hand — help
  22. pit — a hole
  23. bear — the animal
  24. ground — crushed

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