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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. net — for catching
  3. pitch — completely
  4. bulb — for light
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. tear — to rip
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. spell — a short time
  9. tear — from crying
  10. prune — to trim
  11. perch — the fish
  12. prune — to trim
  13. net — after costs
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. tear — from crying
  18. spell — letters
  19. mate — to breed
  20. bulb — for light
  21. net — in sport
  22. mate — a partner
  23. spell — magic
  24. bulb — of a plant

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