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

Word bank: snap · prune · net · foot · wake · tear · mine · perch

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. net — for catching
  3. mine — for digging
  4. tear — to rip
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. tear — from crying
  7. prune — to trim
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. tear — from crying
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — after costs
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. wake — a trail
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. foot — a measure
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. snap — to click
  22. prune — to trim
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. mine — an explosive

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