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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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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: bulb · kick · rest · hand · fine · band · perch · prune

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. fine — all right
  7. kick — in football
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bulb — for light
  11. band — a music group
  12. rest — what's left
  13. perch — the fish
  14. hand — help
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. rest — a break
  17. band — a ring
  18. rest — what's left
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. prune — to trim
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bulb — for light
  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