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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: prune · stand · hand · fine · band · pop · pitcher · perch

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. stand — to bear
  3. pop — to visit
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. hand — in cards
  7. pop — soda
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. perch — the fish
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fine — high quality
  18. fine — all right
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. band — a ring
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. band — a music group
  24. pop — music

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