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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. scale — in music
  4. clip — for paper
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. march — the month
  7. shower — to wash
  8. pop — music
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — the fish
  12. scale — size or range
  13. clip — a video
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. chip — for betting
  16. pop — soda
  17. march — the month
  18. shower — rain
  19. clip — to cut
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. pop — to visit
  22. march — music
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — to eat

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