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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  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. lie — to recline
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. ground — the earth
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. shower — to wash
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. band — a music group
  9. ground — crushed
  10. band — a ring
  11. prune — to trim
  12. spring — of water
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. spring — a coil
  18. ground — a position
  19. spring — the season
  20. shower — rain
  21. perch — the fish
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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