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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: saw · prune · hand · bound · game · last · perch · face

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  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. last — finally
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. face — part of the head
  4. bound — tied together
  5. prune — to trim
  6. last — to go on
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. saw — the tool
  9. hand — in cards
  10. game — a match
  11. last — final
  12. bound — certain
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — to confront
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bound — obliged
  19. hand — help
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. prune — to trim
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  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