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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 · cap · perch · game · hand · last · deal · fork

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. cap — a lid
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. hand — in cards
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. perch — the fish
  10. last — finally
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. hand — help
  13. last — final
  14. deal — to handle
  15. game — a match
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. cap — of ice
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. fork — in a road
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. cap — a hat
  24. game — wild animals

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