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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: prune · capital · perch · club · date · branch · bore · racket

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. club — for dancing
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bore — to drill
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. club — for golf
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. capital — a city
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. perch — the fish
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. club — a group
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. branch — a division
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. capital — money

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