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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. perch — the fish
  9. kick — in football
  10. shower — rain
  11. degree — from a university
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pass — a permit
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bark — to shout
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. prune — to trim
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bark — of a tree

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