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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: roll · ground · bowl · march · hand · lie · perch · wind

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. ground — crushed
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. march — the month
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. roll — a cake
  9. ground — a position
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. ground — the earth
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. wind — moving air
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — the fish
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. lie — to recline
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. roll — a list
  22. march — the month
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. march — 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