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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: bay · fork · field · land · row · snap · roll · perch

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. land — a country
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — a subject
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. snap — to click
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. row — a line
  13. roll — a cake
  14. land — ground
  15. fork — in a road
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. row — to paddle
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. roll — a list
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. land — to come down
  23. field — farmland
  24. row — a quarrel

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