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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. kid — to tease
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. court — for sport
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. file — a tool
  8. perch — the fish
  9. file — a line of people
  10. kid — child
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wax — to grow
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — of law
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. squash — the sport
  22. file — a document
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. squash — to crush

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