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

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. ground — crushed
  3. prune — to trim
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a tool
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. march — music
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. file — a line of people
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. deal — to handle
  14. march — the month
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. perch — the fish
  17. roll — a cake
  18. ground — a position
  19. roll — a list
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. march — the month
  22. ground — the earth
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. perch — for a bird

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