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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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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 · wound · bay · band · row · arm · land · pass

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. land — a country
  4. row — a line
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. land — to come down
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. band — a ring
  11. perch — the fish
  12. land — ground
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. wound — an injury
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. band — a music group
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. pass — a permit
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. perch — for a bird

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