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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. key — the most important part
  3. cap — of ice
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. cap — a lid
  6. bore — to tire
  7. key — in music
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. wind — moving air
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bore — to drill
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. prune — to trim
  15. land — a country
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. land — ground
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. key — for a lock
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. perch — the fish
  22. land — to come down
  23. cap — a hat
  24. wind — moving air

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