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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.

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: perch · kid · ground · face · file · staff · spell · prune

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. face — to point toward
  3. ground — the earth
  4. prune — to trim
  5. spell — a short time
  6. staff — employees
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. face — part of the head
  9. prune — to trim
  10. spell — letters
  11. ground — a position
  12. file — a tool
  13. ground — crushed
  14. perch — the fish
  15. staff — employees
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. file — a line of people
  20. staff — a stick
  21. file — a document
  22. spell — magic
  23. kid — to tease
  24. face — to confront

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