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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wind — moving air
  4. prune — to trim
  5. net — after costs
  6. perch — the fish
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. clip — to cut
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. wind — moving air
  13. kid — child
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. prune — to trim
  20. net — for catching
  21. clip — a video
  22. net — in sport
  23. kid — to tease
  24. ball — a great time

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