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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. prune — to trim
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. pitch — completely
  11. rock — a stone
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. perch — the fish
  14. rock — music
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — in sport
  18. rash — a series
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — a trail
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. perch — for a bird

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