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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: prune · staff · foot · march · court · pop · bat · perch

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pop — to visit
  3. staff — employees
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bat — the animal
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. march — the month
  8. court — for sport
  9. prune — to trim
  10. staff — a stick
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. march — music
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. foot — a measure
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. court — of a king
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. perch — the fish
  19. pop — soda
  20. pop — music
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. staff — employees
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. court — of law

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