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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 · drill · present · wave · fine · game · row · cap

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. game — wild animals
  3. present — the time now
  4. row — a line
  5. drill — a practice
  6. drill — army training
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a lid
  12. present — a gift
  13. fine — all right
  14. perch — the fish
  15. game — a match
  16. present — there
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. drill — the tool
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. fine — high quality
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. cap — a hat
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. row — to paddle

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