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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: perch · key · fall · prune · bear · rest

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. fall — to drop
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. rest — a break
  7. rest — what's left
  8. prune — to trim
  9. fall — to drop
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. key — for a lock
  12. fall — the season
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. prune — to trim
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. key — in music

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