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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: coach · rule · perch · craft · wind · club

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. club — for golf
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. rule — a law
  9. rule — government
  10. wind — moving air
  11. club — for dancing
  12. craft — a skill
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. perch — the fish
  15. wind — moving air
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. club — a group
  18. craft — boats

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