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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. prune — to trim
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pop — soda
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. object — to protest
  9. court — of a king
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. court — for sport
  12. pop — music
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cue — a hint
  15. object — an aim
  16. cue — a signal
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. craft — boats
  20. craft — a skill
  21. cue — for pool
  22. court — of law
  23. object — a thing
  24. craft — a handicraft

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