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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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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: degree · mine · perch · pitcher · saw · prune

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. 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. saw — past of 'see'
  2. saw — the tool
  3. mine — for digging
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. prune — to trim
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. perch — the fish
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. 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