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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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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: kid · file · wound · lie · perch · plane · prune · cell

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. kid — to tease
  5. wound — an injury
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. lie — to recline
  8. cell — a phone
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. plane — a tool
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. prune — to trim
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. file — a line of people

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