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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. spring — the season
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. prune — to trim
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. scale — size or range
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. kick — in football
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. saw — the tool
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — a coil
  15. saw — the tool
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. scale — in music
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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