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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: prune · perch · cap · trunk · kid · bulb · row · cell

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. bulb — for light
  3. kid — child
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. row — a line
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. perch — the fish
  10. kid — to tease
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cap — a hat
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. prune — to trim
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. cell — in biology
  21. row — to paddle
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. bulb — for light
  24. cap — a lid

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