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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. prune — to trim
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. row — to paddle
  9. track — a song
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — crushed
  12. row — a line
  13. track — to keep track
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. cell — in biology
  20. prune — to trim
  21. track — a path
  22. foot — a measure
  23. cell — a phone
  24. ground — the earth

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