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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 116 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: hand · land · row · cabinet · coach · perch · mine · last

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. land — ground
  3. row — to paddle
  4. mine — for digging
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. last — finally
  8. last — final
  9. hand — in cards
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. land — a country
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. last — to go on
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. land — to come down
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. perch — the fish
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. row — a line
  24. mine — an explosive

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