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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 120 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: file · club · shower · prune · fall · ruler · perch · fork

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. club — for golf
  3. shower — to wash
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. club — a group
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. file — a line of people
  9. fall — to drop
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. file — a document
  13. club — for dancing
  14. perch — the fish
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. prune — to trim
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. file — a tool
  19. fork — in a road
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. fall — the season
  23. shower — rain
  24. fall — to drop

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