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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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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: band · bark · craft · cold · perch · cap · prune · key

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cap — a lid
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. key — in music
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. craft — boats
  10. key — the most important part
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bark — to shout
  15. perch — the fish
  16. prune — to trim
  17. key — for a lock
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. band — a ring
  21. craft — a skill
  22. prune — to trim
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. band — a music group

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