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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. swing — music
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. root — the cause
  8. swing — to play on
  9. kick — in football
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. prune — to trim
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. root — of a plant
  15. field — a subject
  16. swing — in golf
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. root — of a word
  19. field — farmland
  20. prune — to trim
  21. field — for sport
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. perch — the fish
  24. leaves — to go away

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