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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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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 · sharp · field · drill · perch · bowl · press · cell

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. press — to push
  4. drill — the tool
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. press — a publisher
  8. field — a subject
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. field — for sport
  11. cell — a phone
  12. prune — to trim
  13. sharp — clever
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. drill — army training
  16. field — farmland
  17. drill — a practice
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. cell — in biology
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bowl — a dish

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