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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: pitcher · wind · safe · row · perch · band · rule · ground

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. band — a ring
  3. rule — a law
  4. wind — moving air
  5. row — to paddle
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. row — a line
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. wind — moving air
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rule — government
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. ground — crushed
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. ground — a position
  22. band — a music group
  23. perch — the fish
  24. ground — the earth

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