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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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. last — finally
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. toast — bread
  5. pop — soda
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. prune — to trim
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. pop — music
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. last — final
  16. perch — the fish
  17. last — to go on
  18. pass — a permit
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. chair — a leader
  24. pop — to visit

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