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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: band · firm · prune · spell · wound · staff · perch · scale

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. prune — to trim
  3. spell — a short time
  4. band — a ring
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. firm — steady
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. staff — employees
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. firm — decided
  13. spell — magic
  14. scale — size or range
  15. wound — an injury
  16. firm — a company
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. spell — letters
  19. band — a music group
  20. staff — a stick
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. staff — employees
  23. scale — in music
  24. wound — an injury

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