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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: ball · foot · bank · perch · game · pitcher · prune · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bank — for money
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. ball — a dance
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. last — to go on
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. game — a match
  10. prune — to trim
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. foot — a measure
  14. prune — to trim
  15. perch — the fish
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bank — of a river
  19. bank — for money
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. last — finally
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. game — wild animals
  24. ball — a great time

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