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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 120 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: pitcher · chip · deal · face · rest · band · prune · perch

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. face — to confront
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. chip — for betting
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rest — a break
  9. rest — what's left
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. chip — to eat
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. deal — to handle
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. rest — what's left
  16. face — to point toward
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. perch — the fish
  19. band — a ring
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. face — part of the head
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a music group
  24. deal — an agreement

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