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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bound — obliged
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — a series
  5. capital — money
  6. board — to get on
  7. bear — the animal
  8. perch — the fish
  9. field — for sport
  10. prune — to trim
  11. board — a committee
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — certain
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — farmland
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bear — the animal
  24. prune — the fruit

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