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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. pop — to visit
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to click
  5. prune — to trim
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. prune — to trim
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. staff — a stick
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pop — soda
  17. staff — employees
  18. pop — music
  19. perch — the fish
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. tear — to rip
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. staff — employees
  24. arm — part of the body

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