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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: last · ground · clip · rock · march · racket · row · perch

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. ground — a position
  5. march — the month
  6. clip — to cut
  7. row — a line
  8. row — to paddle
  9. perch — the fish
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. march — the month
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. march — music
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. clip — for paper
  17. rock — a stone
  18. last — final
  19. rock — music
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. clip — a video
  23. ground — crushed
  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