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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: bass · rash · fan · perch · prune · suit · field · row

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. field — a subject
  3. prune — to trim
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. rash — a series
  9. suit — to fit
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bass — the fish
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. field — farmland
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. suit — clothes
  17. suit — in cards
  18. row — a line
  19. rash — hasty
  20. field — for sport
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. prune — to trim
  24. row — to paddle

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