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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: racket · coach · tear · perch · bear · kid · prune · snap

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. tear — to rip
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. prune — to trim
  9. tear — from crying
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. prune — to trim
  12. snap — to click
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bear — the animal
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bear — the animal
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — to tease
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. tear — from crying

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