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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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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: bound · straw · prune · lean · rest · last · perch · tear

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. bound — obliged
  6. rest — what's left
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. rest — what's left
  10. lean — to bend
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. tear — from crying
  13. lean — thin
  14. last — final
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bound — certain
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. prune — to trim
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. tear — to rip
  22. rest — a break
  23. bound — tied together
  24. perch — the fish

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