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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. last — to go on
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a path
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. root — of a plant
  7. track — a song
  8. prune — to trim
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. last — final
  11. wound — an injury
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. court — of a king
  14. perch — the fish
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. root — of a word
  17. prune — to trim
  18. court — of law
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. last — finally
  21. root — the cause
  22. court — for sport
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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