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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.

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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: prune · perch · face · kid · cap · fall · season · pitcher

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. kid — to tease
  3. cap — of ice
  4. season — in sport
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. face — to confront
  9. fall — to drop
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. cap — a hat
  13. fall — the season
  14. kid — child
  15. fall — to drop
  16. face — part of the head
  17. perch — the fish
  18. cap — a lid
  19. face — to point toward
  20. prune — to trim
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. season — of the year

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