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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: wake · chip · present · perch · saw · prune · leaves · mine

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. present — a gift
  5. prune — to trim
  6. saw — the tool
  7. perch — the fish
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. wake — a trail
  10. chip — for betting
  11. present — there
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. present — the time now
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. saw — the tool
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. chip — to eat
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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