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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  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. pop — soda
  2. pop — to visit
  3. last — to go on
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. last — final
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. pop — music
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. prune — to trim
  14. swing — to play on
  15. prune — to trim
  16. last — finally
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. swing — in golf
  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