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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: perch · bowl · band · prune · current · hand · stem · ground

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. prune — to trim
  3. ground — crushed
  4. hand — in cards
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. prune — to trim
  11. ground — a position
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a ring
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. current — electric
  17. stem — to come from
  18. current — of water
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. ground — the earth
  21. perch — the fish
  22. hand — help
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. current — happening now

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