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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bear — the animal
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. prune — to trim
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. date — the fruit
  14. sharp — clever
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bear — the animal
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bat — the animal
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. prune — the fruit

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