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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 · saw · face · row · capital · bat · prune · foot

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. perch — the fish
  3. foot — a measure
  4. row — to paddle
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bat — the animal
  7. face — part of the head
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. saw — the tool
  10. face — to point toward
  11. capital — a city
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. face — to confront
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. row — a line
  16. capital — money
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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