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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: fall · hand · fork · prune · pop · kid · perch · firm

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. fall — the season
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. hand — help
  8. firm — steady
  9. pop — music
  10. fall — to drop
  11. perch — the fish
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. fork — in a road
  14. firm — a company
  15. fall — to drop
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. pop — to visit
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. kid — to tease
  24. pop — soda

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