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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 · prune · safe · row · clip · game · tear · craft

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. game — a match
  3. row — to paddle
  4. tear — from crying
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. row — a line
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. clip — a video
  10. craft — a skill
  11. tear — from crying
  12. clip — for paper
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. tear — to rip
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. game — wild animals
  20. craft — boats
  21. clip — to cut
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. game — a kind of play

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