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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 water is too ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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. cold — not warm
  4. wound — an injury
  5. can — a tin
  6. ground — crushed
  7. wound — an injury
  8. prune — to trim
  9. perch — the fish
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. firm — a company
  12. can — to be able to
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. ground — a position
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. ground — the earth
  20. can — a tin
  21. firm — decided
  22. firm — steady
  23. cold — an illness
  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