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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. face — part of the head
  3. tear — from crying
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. perch — the fish
  6. last — to go on
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cell — in biology
  11. last — finally
  12. cell — a phone
  13. tear — from crying
  14. prune — to trim
  15. face — to confront
  16. fork — in a road
  17. last — final
  18. tear — to rip
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fall — to drop
  21. face — to point toward
  22. fall — to drop
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. fall — the season

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