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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  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. mine — belonging to me
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. lie — to recline
  5. mine — for digging
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rule — a law
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. snap — to click
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. perch — the fish
  13. season — of the year
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. kid — child
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. season — in sport
  22. kid — to tease
  23. rule — government
  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