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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: scale · row · perch · object · wake · field · clip · root

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. scale — in music
  3. root — of a plant
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. clip — to cut
  6. object — to protest
  7. field — a subject
  8. wake — a trail
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. clip — for paper
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. root — the cause
  14. scale — size or range
  15. root — of a word
  16. row — a line
  17. clip — a video
  18. field — for sport
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. object — a thing
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. field — farmland
  23. object — an aim
  24. perch — the fish

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