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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. kid — child
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bulb — for light
  6. kid — to tease
  7. rest — a break
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cue — for pool
  10. cue — a signal
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. rest — what's left
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. prune — to trim
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. rest — what's left
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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