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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. prune — to trim
  3. net — after costs
  4. bound — tied together
  5. can — a tin
  6. foot — a measure
  7. can — to be able to
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — a trail
  13. perch — the fish
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. tear — from crying
  16. prune — to trim
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bound — certain
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. net — in sport
  21. can — a tin
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bound — obliged
  24. prune — the fruit

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