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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: tear · lean · bear · present · perch · march · pitcher · cold

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. present — the time now
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to bend
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — the animal
  7. march — music
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cold — not warm
  10. present — there
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. tear — from crying
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. present — a gift
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. tear — to rip
  24. lean — to rest against

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