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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  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. shower — a meteor shower
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mate — a friend
  4. prune — to trim
  5. deal — to handle
  6. prune — to trim
  7. shower — rain
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. tear — to rip
  10. key — for a lock
  11. drill — army training
  12. perch — the fish
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. drill — the tool
  15. mate — a partner
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. tear — from crying
  18. key — the most important part
  19. drill — a practice
  20. key — in music
  21. shower — to wash
  22. mate — to breed
  23. tear — from crying
  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