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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. mine — for digging
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bound — certain
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bound — obliged
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. root — the cause
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mate — a friend
  14. kid — child
  15. mate — a partner
  16. root — of a plant
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. perch — the fish
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. mate — to breed
  23. bound — tied together
  24. root — of a word

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