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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: hand · swing · perch · track · deal · prune · fan · tube

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. hand — help
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. tube — the underground
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. swing — music
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. track — a song
  11. track — to keep track
  12. perch — the fish
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. tube — a container
  15. deal — to handle
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. swing — to play on
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. track — a path
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. swing — in golf
  23. hand — in cards
  24. prune — to trim

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