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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: rock · prune · perch · hand · spell · pop · wound · stem

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. spell — a short time
  3. wound — an injury
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. perch — the fish
  6. spell — letters
  7. stem — to come from
  8. prune — to trim
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pop — soda
  12. rock — a stone
  13. spell — magic
  14. hand — help
  15. pop — to visit
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. rock — music
  21. pop — music
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. hand — in cards
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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