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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 116 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — in football
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. lean — to bend
  9. sharp — clever
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wind — moving air
  13. lean — thin
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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