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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: perch · root · prune · bat · rash · fall · net · spring

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. spring — of water
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. root — of a plant
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. prune — to trim
  9. root — the cause
  10. perch — the fish
  11. spring — the season
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. net — for catching
  14. root — of a word
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bat — the animal
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — hasty
  20. fall — the season
  21. spring — a coil
  22. net — after costs
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. net — in sport

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