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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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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. perch — the fish
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — to shout
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. prune — the fruit

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