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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mate · calf · bass · prune · court · land · pitcher · perch

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  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. mate — a friend
  3. court — for sport
  4. mate — a partner
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bass — the fish
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. perch — the fish
  10. land — to come down
  11. court — of law
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. land — a country
  14. prune — to trim
  15. court — of a king
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bass — low music
  19. mate — to breed
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. land — ground
  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