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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  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. hand — in cards
  2. root — of a word
  3. prune — to trim
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. hand — help
  7. root — of a plant
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. perch — the fish
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. band — a music group
  12. wind — moving air
  13. band — a ring
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. root — the cause
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. prune — to trim
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  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