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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 116 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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. prune — to trim
  3. squash — the sport
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. squash — to crush
  7. pass — a permit
  8. ground — a position
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — in music
  13. ground — the earth
  14. cap — a hat
  15. branch — a division
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cap — a lid
  18. ground — crushed
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. scale — size or range
  21. perch — the fish
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. prune — to trim
  24. pass — to spend time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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