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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. root — of a plant
  5. prune — to trim
  6. root — of a word
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. tear — from crying
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. perch — the fish
  12. prune — to trim
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. date — the fruit
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. mark — a grade
  20. root — the cause
  21. mark — a trace
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. fan — a supporter

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