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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. sharp — clever
  3. perch — the fish
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a line of people
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — in sport
  19. press — newspapers
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. press — to push
  22. file — a tool
  23. net — for catching
  24. press — a publisher

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