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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  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. hand — help
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. hand — in cards
  4. last — to go on
  5. prune — to trim
  6. swing — to play on
  7. kid — child
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. last — final
  11. prune — to trim
  12. swing — in golf
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. swing — music
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — the fish
  17. kid — to tease
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. season — of the year
  20. last — finally
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. season — in sport
  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