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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. prune — to trim
  3. spring — of water
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. last — finally
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. roll — a list
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. spring — a coil
  10. band — a ring
  11. bank — for money
  12. roll — a cake
  13. band — a music group
  14. last — final
  15. perch — the fish
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bass — low music
  20. bank — for money
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bank — of a river
  23. spring — the season
  24. last — to go on

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