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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 120 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. branch — a division
  3. fine — high quality
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. prune — to trim
  7. fine — all right
  8. hand — in cards
  9. club — for dancing
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. hand — help
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. perch — the fish
  16. deal — to handle
  17. tear — to rip
  18. club — for golf
  19. club — a group
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. prune — to trim
  22. tear — from crying
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. prune — the fruit

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