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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · prune · field · ground · perch · present · plane · cap

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. land — to come down
  3. prune — to trim
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cap — of ice
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. perch — the fish
  8. ground — a position
  9. land — ground
  10. cap — a hat
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. ground — the earth
  13. present — there
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. plane — a tool
  18. ground — crushed
  19. cap — a lid
  20. present — the time now
  21. field — a subject
  22. land — a country
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — for sport

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