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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: perch · mine · prune · march · face · bass · tear · bay

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. mine — for digging
  3. prune — to trim
  4. face — part of the head
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. tear — to rip
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. tear — from crying
  11. perch — the fish
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. tear — from crying
  15. prune — to trim
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. face — to point toward
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. face — to confront
  22. march — music
  23. bass — low music
  24. perch — for a bird

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