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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.

Make a worksheet

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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. prune — to trim
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — the fish
  6. ball — a dance
  7. file — a document
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. object — to protest
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. root — the cause
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. object — an aim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a tool
  19. root — of a plant
  20. object — a thing
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. root — of a word
  23. ball — a great time
  24. mine — an explosive

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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