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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: arm · prune · hand · file · shower · perch · field · sharp

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. field — farmland
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. file — a tool
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. file — a line of people
  7. sharp — clever
  8. perch — the fish
  9. prune — to trim
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. hand — in cards
  14. shower — to wash
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. field — a subject
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. hand — help
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. field — for sport
  23. shower — rain
  24. prune — to trim

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