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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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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: hand · perch · rest · patient · net · prune · file · bank

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. hand — in cards
  4. prune — to trim
  5. hand — help
  6. file — a document
  7. net — in sport
  8. bank — for money
  9. rest — a break
  10. file — a line of people
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. net — after costs
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bank — of a river
  18. file — a tool
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bank — for money
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. net — for catching
  24. rest — what's left

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