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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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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: cell · prune · leaves · perch · fork · bat · stock · fall

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. prune — to trim
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. fall — to drop
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cell — in biology
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. stock — shares
  16. prune — to trim
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. perch — the fish
  20. fall — the season
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. bat — the animal
  23. fork — in a road
  24. stock — goods

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