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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: degree · mine · perch · pitcher · saw · prune · stand · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. degree — from a university
  10. saw — the tool
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. stand — to bear
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. mine — for digging
  19. prune — to trim
  20. march — the month
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. march — music
  23. degree — an amount
  24. perch — the fish

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