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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. tear — from crying
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. content — happy
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bound — obliged
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. field — farmland
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. prune — to trim
  14. march — music
  15. tear — to rip
  16. field — a subject
  17. content — the amount
  18. bound — tied together
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. bound — certain
  23. field — for sport
  24. tear — from crying

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