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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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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: bear · prune · mark · perch · cold · hand · ruler · ground

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. bear — the animal
  3. cold — not warm
  4. prune — to trim
  5. perch — the fish
  6. hand — help
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. ground — crushed
  9. cold — an illness
  10. mark — a grade
  11. ground — a position
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. mark — a trace
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bear — the animal
  19. prune — to trim
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. bear — to put up with

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