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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 · fork · ground · stem · march · lean · wound · spell

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wound — an injury
  3. march — music
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. spell — magic
  6. wound — an injury
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. lean — to bend
  11. ground — a position
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. ground — the earth
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. spell — letters
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — thin
  20. fork — in a road
  21. march — the month
  22. ground — crushed
  23. stem — to come from
  24. spell — a short time

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