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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 124 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. key — the most important part
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. craft — a skill
  6. perch — the fish
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. last — finally
  9. prune — to trim
  10. craft — boats
  11. last — final
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. degree — from a university
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. degree — temperature
  16. key — for a lock
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. kid — to tease
  20. key — in music
  21. last — to go on
  22. degree — an amount
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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