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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: perch · file · mouse · pop · prune · game · ground · lean

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. lean — to bend
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. game — wild animals
  6. ground — crushed
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. prune — to trim
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. perch — the fish
  12. file — a document
  13. pop — music
  14. pop — to visit
  15. ground — the earth
  16. file — a tool
  17. lean — thin
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. game — a match
  20. file — a line of people
  21. prune — to trim
  22. ground — a position
  23. pop — soda
  24. perch — for a bird

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