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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wake — a trail
  3. prune — to trim
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. last — final
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. last — finally
  8. prune — to trim
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. rule — government
  13. last — to go on
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — to breed
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. mate — a partner
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. perch — the fish
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. rule — a law
  24. kid — child

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