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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: board · track · hide · perch · hand · prune · wound · tear

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. tear — from crying
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. board — a committee
  7. prune — to trim
  8. track — to keep track
  9. board — to get on
  10. hand — help
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wound — an injury
  13. track — a path
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. hand — in cards
  16. track — a song
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. wound — an injury
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. tear — to rip
  22. perch — the fish
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hand — part of the body

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