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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. track — to keep track
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. track — a path
  8. rule — a law
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. track — a song
  14. row — to paddle
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. perch — the fish
  19. rule — government
  20. row — a line
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wound — an injury
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. arm — a part of something

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