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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: rock · chair · perch · tear · calf · sharp · squash · bulb

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. tear — from crying
  3. squash — the sport
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. tear — to rip
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. perch — the fish
  9. rock — music
  10. squash — to crush
  11. chair — a leader
  12. bulb — for light
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. tear — from crying
  16. sharp — clever
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bulb — for light
  22. rock — a stone
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. squash — the vegetable

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