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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 120 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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. ball — a dance
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. present — the time now
  5. lie — to recline
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cold — not warm
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. cold — an illness
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. perch — the fish
  17. present — a gift
  18. charge — a price
  19. present — there
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. ball — a great time
  24. charge — in control

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