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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 120 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. perch — the fish
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. rock — music
  5. face — to point toward
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. face — part of the head
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. cell — in biology
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cold — not warm
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cell — a phone
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. face — to confront
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. rock — a stone

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