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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. can — a tin
  3. race — the arms race
  4. squash — the sport
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. prune — to trim
  7. squash — to crush
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rock — music
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. race — a contest
  17. spring — of water
  18. race — humankind
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — to be able to
  24. squash — the vegetable

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