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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: bear · wake · mine · pit · perch · prune · wound · band

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. band — a music group
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bear — the animal
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. pit — a hole
  11. mine — for digging
  12. bear — the animal
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. pit — in a race
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. band — a ring
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wake — a trail
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. prune — to trim

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