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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a line of people
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. shower — rain
  11. foot — a measure
  12. bat — the animal
  13. shower — to wash
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. file — a document
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. perch — the fish
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. foot — the bottom

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