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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 116 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: chip · land · bat · bass · prune · saw · season · perch

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chip — to eat
  4. bat — the animal
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. bass — low music
  7. land — a country
  8. saw — the tool
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. season — of the year
  16. bass — the fish
  17. land — to come down
  18. season — in sport
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. land — ground
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. prune — to trim

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