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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bass — the fish
  4. perch — the fish
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. bass — low music
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. pop — music
  9. mark — a trace
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. spell — letters
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — a short time
  15. pop — to visit
  16. mark — a grade
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — a phone
  19. pop — soda
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. prune — to trim
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — a position

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