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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. band — a ring
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. prune — to trim
  7. clip — a video
  8. object — a thing
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — a friend
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. object — an aim
  15. band — a music group
  16. clip — to cut
  17. spring — of water
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. clip — for paper
  21. prune — to trim
  22. spring — a coil
  23. object — to protest
  24. spring — 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