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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. prune — to trim
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. saw — the tool
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. key — the most important part
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cell — a phone
  13. date — the fruit
  14. cell — in biology
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. key — for a lock
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. key — in music
  20. prune — to trim
  21. perch — the fish
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. prune — the fruit

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