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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. root — the cause
  5. branch — a division
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — of law
  8. court — for sport
  9. snap — to click
  10. bear — the animal
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. root — of a word
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bear — the animal
  18. root — of a plant
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. perch — the fish
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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