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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: chip · kid · land · prune · perch · arm · racket · content

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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. land — ground
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. content — the amount
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. prune — to trim
  12. land — a country
  13. kid — child
  14. perch — the fish
  15. land — to come down
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chip — for betting
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. content — happy
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. kid — to tease

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