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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. court — of a king
  4. prune — to trim
  5. lean — thin
  6. rash — hasty
  7. perch — the fish
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. lean — to bend
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. degree — an amount
  12. rash — a series
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — music
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pop — soda
  19. toast — bread
  20. degree — temperature
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. court — of law
  23. court — for sport
  24. degree — from a university

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