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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. perch — the fish
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pop — soda
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. ground — crushed
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. pop — music
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bear — the animal
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pop — to visit
  22. ground — a position
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bear — the animal

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