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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 116 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 · cue · march · hand · spell · branch · prune · field

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. spell — a short time
  3. perch — the fish
  4. branch — a division
  5. march — music
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cue — for pool
  8. spell — magic
  9. field — for sport
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. spell — letters
  13. prune — to trim
  14. hand — help
  15. field — a subject
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. prune — to trim
  20. hand — in cards
  21. field — farmland
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cue — a hint

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