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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. ball — a great time
  6. chest — of your body
  7. dip — to sink
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. chest — a box
  10. bulb — for light
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. perch — the fish
  13. prune — to trim
  14. last — final
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. last — finally
  17. bulb — for light
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. last — to go on
  21. ball — a dance
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. wind — moving air
  24. chest — of your body

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