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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: prune · roll · land · file · board · rest · perch · wave

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. roll — a list
  3. board — a committee
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. prune — to trim
  6. perch — the fish
  7. land — to come down
  8. file — a document
  9. land — a country
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rest — a break
  12. prune — to trim
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. land — ground
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. board — to get on
  18. rest — what's left
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. file — a tool
  24. rest — what's left

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