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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 120 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: cap · prune · land · rest · perch · club · rule · band

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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. band — a rubber band
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. cap — of ice
  6. rule — a law
  7. land — a country
  8. club — a group
  9. rest — what's left
  10. land — ground
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. cap — a hat
  13. club — for golf
  14. cap — a lid
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. land — to come down
  17. rest — what's left
  18. band — a ring
  19. prune — to trim
  20. club — for dancing
  21. perch — the fish
  22. rest — a break
  23. rule — government
  24. band — a music group

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