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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. prune — to trim
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. track — a song
  7. rule — government
  8. mate — to breed
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. rule — a law
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. perch — the fish
  13. mate — a partner
  14. row — to paddle
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. track — a path
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. track — to keep track
  19. mate — a friend
  20. prune — to trim
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — help

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