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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: bank · ground · land · tear · fork · scale · toast · perch

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. land — ground
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bank — for money
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. toast — bread
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. scale — in music
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. ground — crushed
  14. land — to come down
  15. bank — of a river
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. scale — size or range
  19. land — a country
  20. ground — the earth
  21. bank — for money
  22. tear — from crying
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. ground — a position

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