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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 116 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: file · board · mark · degree · prune · tear · fork · perch

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. tear — to rip
  5. board — a committee
  6. degree — temperature
  7. mark — a grade
  8. tear — from crying
  9. degree — an amount
  10. perch — the fish
  11. fork — in a road
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. file — a document
  14. prune — to trim
  15. file — a tool
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. board — to get on
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. mark — a trace
  20. degree — from a university
  21. tear — from crying
  22. file — a line of people
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. prune — the fruit

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