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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bulb — for light
  4. capital — money
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. field — a subject
  8. perch — the fish
  9. field — farmland
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bulb — for light
  13. wake — a trail
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. field — for sport
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. ball — a dance
  23. capital — a city
  24. ball — a great time

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