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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 116 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 are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. perch — the fish
  3. prune — to trim
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. land — ground
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. prune — to trim
  10. land — to come down
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. mine — for digging
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. pitch — completely
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. content — the amount
  21. land — a country
  22. content — happy
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. safe — out of danger

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