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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pop — music
  4. net — after costs
  5. perch — the fish
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. pop — to visit
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wake — a trail
  14. tear — to rip
  15. net — in sport
  16. pop — soda
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. tear — from crying
  21. prune — to trim
  22. net — for catching
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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