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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: last · saw · prune · mark · row · wake · perch · kick

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  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. mark — to pay attention
  2. kick — in football
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. last — to go on
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. last — finally
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. mark — a trace
  9. wake — a trail
  10. prune — to trim
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. row — to paddle
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. row — a line
  18. mark — a grade
  19. saw — the tool
  20. perch — the fish
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. last — final
  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