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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. court — for sport
  5. object — an aim
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. wind — moving air
  8. prune — to trim
  9. object — a thing
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rash — a series
  13. perch — the fish
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. court — of a king
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. court — of law
  20. season — of the year
  21. object — to protest
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. season — in sport
  24. rash — hasty

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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