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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: field · ball · perch · calf · prune · bat · cue · chest

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. chest — of your body
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. ball — a great time
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. cue — a hint
  7. field — farmland
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. field — for sport
  11. cue — for pool
  12. cue — a signal
  13. prune — to trim
  14. field — a subject
  15. chest — of your body
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. chest — a box
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bat — the animal
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. bat — for baseball

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