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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: band · ground · file · club · roll · perch · pitcher · trunk

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. ground — a position
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. roll — a cake
  8. file — a tool
  9. ground — crushed
  10. perch — the fish
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. band — a music group
  13. club — for dancing
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. club — for golf
  16. file — a document
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a ring
  19. club — a group
  20. file — a line of people
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. ground — the earth
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. roll — a list

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