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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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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 · prune · deal · foot · cold · stick · bound · stand

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  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. deal — a big deal
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. perch — the fish
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. prune — to trim
  8. foot — a measure
  9. stand — to bear
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bound — certain
  13. deal — to handle
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bound — obliged
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bound — tied together
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. stand — for spectators
  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