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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. last — finally
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. spell — letters
  6. prune — to trim
  7. last — to go on
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. ball — a great time
  10. last — final
  11. spell — magic
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. prune — to trim
  15. track — a song
  16. track — a path
  17. spell — a short time
  18. snap — to click
  19. ball — a dance
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. track — to keep track
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. ball — a round shape

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