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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — to come from
  9. field — farmland
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. field — a subject
  12. game — wild animals
  13. perch — the fish
  14. wake — a trail
  15. field — for sport
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. charge — in control
  18. prune — to trim
  19. game — a match
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. charge — a price
  22. charge — electricity
  23. deal — to handle
  24. wake — before a funeral

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