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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. prune — to trim
  3. spell — magic
  4. net — after costs
  5. fall — the season
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. branch — a division
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — in sport
  10. prune — to trim
  11. spell — a short time
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. fall — to drop
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. spell — letters
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. net — in sport
  20. fall — to drop
  21. perch — the fish
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. season — of the year
  24. straw — dry grass

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