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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  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. prune — to trim
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. track — a path
  5. squash — to crush
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. track — a song
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wax — to grow
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. prune — to trim
  13. squash — the sport
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. present — the time now
  16. track — to keep track
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. perch — the fish
  19. present — a gift
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. present — there
  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