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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. capital — money
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to bend
  6. mate — a partner
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pop — to visit
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. pop — soda
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. mate — a friend
  17. cold — not warm
  18. pop — music
  19. mate — to breed
  20. dip — to sink
  21. perch — the fish
  22. prune — to trim
  23. capital — a city
  24. dip — to dunk

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