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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  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. prune — to trim
  2. march — the month
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. march — music
  7. band — a ring
  8. perch — the fish
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. pound — a weight
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. march — the month
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. prune — to trim
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. band — a music group
  22. sharp — clever
  23. pound — for dogs
  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