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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  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. perch — the fish
  2. rest — a break
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. field — farmland
  5. date — the fruit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. rest — what's left
  12. field — for sport
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. field — a subject
  16. dip — to sink
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. lean — thin
  22. rest — what's left
  23. lean — to bend
  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