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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: perch · cell · face · prune · drill · march · jam · bark

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. march — music
  3. cell — in biology
  4. face — to confront
  5. prune — to trim
  6. face — to point toward
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. cell — a phone
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. march — the month
  12. perch — the fish
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. march — the month
  18. face — part of the head
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — the tool
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cell — in a prison

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