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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. prune — to trim
  3. suit — clothes
  4. swing — to play on
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. swing — in golf
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. field — a subject
  14. perch — the fish
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. field — for sport
  18. wound — an injury
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. suit — in cards
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. suit — to fit
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. swing — music

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