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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 · row · wind · game · mate · spring · band · trunk

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. row — to paddle
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. spring — a coil
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. perch — the fish
  9. row — a line
  10. mate — a partner
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. spring — the season
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. mate — to breed
  17. band — a music group
  18. game — wild animals
  19. band — a ring
  20. game — a match
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. spring — of water
  23. wind — moving air
  24. mate — a friend

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