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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: plane · scale · march · coach · dip · perch · sharp · row

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. row — to paddle
  3. scale — size or range
  4. march — music
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. march — the month
  10. row — a line
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. march — the month
  15. dip — to sink
  16. plane — a tool
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. scale — in music
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. perch — the fish
  24. sharp — clever

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