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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wind — moving air
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — the fish
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ball — a dance
  8. swing — music
  9. march — music
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. rash — a series
  12. wind — moving air
  13. march — the month
  14. rash — hasty
  15. march — the month
  16. swing — in golf
  17. prune — to trim
  18. swing — to play on
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — the tool
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. rash — on the skin

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