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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 116 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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. perch — the fish
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. spring — a coil
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. ball — a dance
  8. chip — to eat
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. prune — to trim
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. prune — to trim
  14. root — the cause
  15. shower — to wash
  16. degree — temperature
  17. chip — for betting
  18. shower — rain
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. degree — from a university
  21. root — of a word
  22. degree — an amount
  23. root — of a plant
  24. perch — for a bird

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