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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. prune — to trim
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. chair — a leader
  9. pit — a hole
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. rash — hasty
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. spell — magic
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — a short time
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rash — a series

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