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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. prune — to trim
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. cap — a lid
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. tube — the underground
  9. kick — in football
  10. tube — a container
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — of ice
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. perch — the fish
  24. bat — in an idiom

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