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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. rock — a stone
  3. clip — for paper
  4. prune — to trim
  5. clip — to cut
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. rock — music
  11. clip — a video
  12. fork — in a road
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. prune — to trim
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. cold — an illness
  21. march — music
  22. cold — not warm
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. rock — to move gently

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