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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. face — to point toward
  5. prune — to trim
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a match
  10. face — part of the head
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — to come from
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. wound — an injury
  17. perch — the fish
  18. wound — an injury
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — a phone
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. face — to confront

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