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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. land — a country
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. land — ground
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — soda
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. perch — the fish
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pitch — completely
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pop — to visit
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. land — to come down

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