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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. board — a committee
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. mine — for digging
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. can — a tin
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. prune — to trim
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. board — to get on
  15. stem — to come from
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. rash — hasty
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. perch — the fish
  20. can — to be able to
  21. kid — child
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. rash — a series
  24. kid — to tease

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