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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 shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. tube — a container
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. perch — the fish
  5. tear — from crying
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rush — hurry
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. board — to get on
  12. tube — the underground
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. spell — a short time
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. prune — to trim
  20. spell — letters
  21. tear — from crying
  22. spell — magic
  23. tear — to rip
  24. board — a committee

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