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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. perch — the fish
  3. prune — to trim
  4. swing — music
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. present — there
  7. race — humankind
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. swing — in golf
  10. race — a contest
  11. tube — the underground
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. race — the arms race
  15. present — the time now
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. swing — to play on
  20. prune — to trim
  21. present — a gift
  22. tube — a container
  23. cold — an illness
  24. tube — in a tire

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