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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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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: fall · cabinet · hand · prune · perch · bowl · land · present

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. land — ground
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. present — a gift
  6. fall — the season
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. perch — the fish
  10. prune — to trim
  11. hand — help
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. fall — to drop
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. present — the time now
  17. prune — to trim
  18. land — a country
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. present — there
  21. fall — to drop
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. hand — in cards

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