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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 120 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. prune — to trim
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. march — the month
  8. kid — child
  9. bear — the animal
  10. kid — to tease
  11. perch — the fish
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — the tool
  14. march — music
  15. drill — army training
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. march — the month
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bear — the animal
  21. dip — to sink
  22. bulb — for light
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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