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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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. rule — government
  4. stock — shares
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. key — for a lock
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. perch — the fish
  10. key — in music
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. band — a ring
  13. key — the most important part
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. stock — goods
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rule — a law
  19. wind — moving air
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bat — the animal
  24. stock — a soup base

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