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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 120 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: prune · rest · fan · foot · content · perch · capital · rash

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — a series
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rest — what's left
  7. capital — money
  8. rash — hasty
  9. prune — to trim
  10. perch — the fish
  11. rest — a break
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — happy
  15. rest — what's left
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. capital — a city
  23. foot — a measure
  24. fan — a supporter

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