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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: snap · hand · perch · lie · band · prune · bear · game

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — the animal
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. hand — in cards
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. band — a ring
  11. lie — to recline
  12. prune — to trim
  13. game — wild animals
  14. prune — to trim
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. snap — to click
  20. hand — help
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. game — a match

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