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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. land — ground
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wound — an injury
  5. land — a country
  6. fall — the season
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. fall — to drop
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. perch — the fish
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wound — an injury
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. row — a line
  17. land — to come down
  18. prune — to trim
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. row — to paddle
  21. season — of the year
  22. season — in sport
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. fall — to drop

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