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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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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 · tear · chest · scale · bear · fork

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. chest — of your body
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. tear — to rip
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fork — in a road
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bear — the animal
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. scale — in music
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. scale — size or range
  16. bear — the animal
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. chest — a box

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