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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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. spell — a short time
  4. spell — magic
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. chest — a box
  9. mug — a cup
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. prune — to trim
  12. degree — from a university
  13. chest — of your body
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. chest — of your body
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. perch — the fish
  18. degree — an amount
  19. spell — letters
  20. degree — temperature
  21. mug — to rob
  22. mug — a face
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. fork — in a road

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