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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: cold · prune · staff · perch · saw · stick · bulb · tube

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bulb — for light
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. tube — a container
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. cold — not warm
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. cold — an illness
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. perch — the fish
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. bulb — for light
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. prune — to trim
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — a stick
  23. staff — employees
  24. cold — the Cold War

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