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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: pop · season · perch · tear · wound · trunk · last · ball

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wound — an injury
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. season — of the year
  5. perch — the fish
  6. ball — a dance
  7. last — finally
  8. wound — an injury
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pop — soda
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. ball — a great time
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. last — to go on
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. last — final
  18. pop — to visit
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. season — in sport
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. tear — to rip
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pop — music

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