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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. pop — music
  5. root — of a word
  6. ground — the earth
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. tear — from crying
  9. season — in sport
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. root — of a plant
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. tear — to rip
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. tear — from crying
  16. root — the cause
  17. pop — to visit
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. squash — to crush
  21. season — of the year
  22. ground — crushed
  23. squash — the sport
  24. pop — soda

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