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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: row · march · cue · arm · tear · perch · stem · land

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cue — a hint
  4. tear — to rip
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. row — to paddle
  7. cue — for pool
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — to come from
  11. perch — the fish
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. row — a line
  14. march — music
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. land — a country
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. tear — from crying
  21. land — ground
  22. tear — from crying
  23. land — to come down
  24. cue — a signal

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