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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: game · track · prune · perch · squash · sharp · last · pit

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. pit — a hole
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. last — to go on
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. perch — the fish
  9. track — to keep track
  10. last — final
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. sharp — clever
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. squash — the sport
  16. game — a match
  17. last — finally
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. squash — to crush
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. pit — in a race
  23. track — a song
  24. track — a path

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