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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: game · prune · racket · pop · bulb · tube · perch · hand

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. game — a match
  3. pop — soda
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. perch — the fish
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. pop — to visit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — a container
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pop — music
  19. bulb — for light
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — wild animals
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bulb — for light
  24. perch — for a bird

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