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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bore — to tire
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. season — in sport
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — the fish
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. season — of the year
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. prune — to trim
  24. kick — in football

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