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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: spring · root · wind · scale · straw · pitcher · prune · perch

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. prune — to trim
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — a coil
  9. root — of a word
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. root — of a plant
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. scale — in music
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. spring — the season
  18. wind — moving air
  19. perch — the fish
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — size or range
  23. wind — moving air
  24. root — the cause

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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