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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: wind · hand · nail · season · cell · tear · racket · perch

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cell — in biology
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. season — of the year
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. perch — the fish
  11. season — in sport
  12. hand — in cards
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wind — moving air
  18. tear — to rip
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. hand — help
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. tear — from crying
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. wind — moving air

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