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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: perch · coach · cap · row · wax · rest · bowl · prune

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — of ice
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. perch — the fish
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. wax — to grow
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. row — to paddle
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. row — a line
  22. cap — a hat
  23. rest — a break
  24. prune — to trim

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