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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chest — a box
  5. cue — a hint
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pop — music
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pop — to visit
  12. chest — of your body
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pop — soda
  15. cue — a signal
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. perch — the fish
  19. rest — a break
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cue — for pool
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. chest — of your body

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