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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: season · craft · perch · row · tear · plane · fall · ground

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  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. season — to add flavour
  2. tear — to rip
  3. ground — the earth
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. ground — a position
  6. season — of the year
  7. fall — the season
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. tear — from crying
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. row — a line
  12. craft — boats
  13. ground — crushed
  14. perch — the fish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. season — in sport
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. tear — from crying
  19. craft — a skill
  20. fall — to drop
  21. row — to paddle
  22. plane — a tool
  23. fall — to drop
  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