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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. cell — in biology
  3. tear — to rip
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. prune — to trim
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pit — a hole
  8. content — the amount
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cell — a phone
  11. pit — in a race
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. dip — to sink
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — happy
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. tear — from crying
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. perch — for a bird

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