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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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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: prune · court · fan · row · perch · bat · suit · wound

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. suit — to fit
  5. suit — clothes
  6. bat — the animal
  7. suit — in cards
  8. perch — the fish
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. court — for sport
  11. wound — an injury
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a line
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. prune — to trim
  17. court — of a king
  18. wound — an injury
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. court — of law
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. prune — to trim

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