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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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. last — final
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. deal — to handle
  9. prune — to trim
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. scale — in music
  12. last — to go on
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. perch — the fish
  16. can — a tin
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. can — to be able to
  19. last — finally
  20. scale — size or range
  21. prune — to trim
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. can — a tin

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