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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: field · prune · craft · perch · fan · straw · tear · staff

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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. field — a subject
  4. perch — the fish
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. prune — to trim
  10. staff — employees
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. craft — boats
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. field — farmland
  17. tear — from crying
  18. staff — a stick
  19. field — for sport
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. staff — employees
  24. craft — a skill

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