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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. present — a gift
  3. kid — child
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. prune — to trim
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. land — to come down
  9. root — of a word
  10. root — of a plant
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. root — the cause
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. present — the time now
  15. land — ground
  16. prune — to trim
  17. land — a country
  18. snap — to click
  19. perch — the fish
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. present — there
  22. kid — to tease
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pitcher — a jug

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