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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: staff · perch · bass · fine · prune · sharp · cell · field

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. staff — employees
  3. bass — the fish
  4. staff — employees
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cell — a phone
  8. fine — all right
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. prune — to trim
  11. field — farmland
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bass — low music
  15. fine — high quality
  16. perch — the fish
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. sharp — clever
  19. cell — in biology
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. field — for sport
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. field — a subject

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