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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 124 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. degree — temperature
  3. row — a line
  4. prune — to trim
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. tear — to rip
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. row — to paddle
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. degree — an amount
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a music group
  15. tear — from crying
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. tear — from crying
  22. degree — from a university
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — the fish

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