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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. track — a path
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. capital — a city
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. clip — for paper
  12. track — a song
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. sharp — clever
  15. perch — the fish
  16. fork — in a road
  17. prune — to trim
  18. capital — money
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. track — to keep track
  21. clip — to cut
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. clip — a video
  24. leaves — to go away

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