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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: row · deal · march · prune · bay · wound · perch · mine

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. row — a line
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. perch — the fish
  10. march — the month
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. mine — for digging
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. prune — to trim
  17. march — music
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. row — to paddle
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. deal — to handle
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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