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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. spring — a coil
  5. ground — the earth
  6. prune — to trim
  7. perch — the fish
  8. court — for sport
  9. prune — to trim
  10. court — of a king
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. suit — in cards
  14. suit — to fit
  15. ground — crushed
  16. spring — the season
  17. kid — child
  18. bear — the animal
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bear — the animal
  22. spring — of water
  23. ground — a position
  24. court — of law

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