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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.

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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 · bank · march · spell · pop · tear · perch · bear

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. pop — soda
  3. bank — for money
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. tear — to rip
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. spell — a short time
  9. march — the month
  10. bank — for money
  11. bear — the animal
  12. pop — to visit
  13. tear — from crying
  14. perch — the fish
  15. bank — of a river
  16. tear — from crying
  17. spell — letters
  18. pop — music
  19. wind — moving air
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bear — the animal
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. spell — magic
  24. march — the month

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