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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. perch — the fish
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a partner
  5. squash — to crush
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. squash — the sport
  9. chest — of your body
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chest — a box
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mate — a friend
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. tube — a container
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. march — music
  20. tube — the underground
  21. chest — of your body
  22. march — the month
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. trunk — of a tree

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