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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. track — a song
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. rash — hasty
  6. bore — to tire
  7. branch — a division
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. pit — a hole
  10. deal — to handle
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. track — to keep track
  17. bore — to drill
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. perch — the fish
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. rash — a series
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. track — a path

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