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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 · row · cold · root · trunk · net · stand · fork

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. stand — to bear
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. fork — in a road
  5. net — after costs
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. root — of a plant
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. row — a line
  14. cold — not warm
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. row — to paddle
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. root — of a word
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — in sport
  22. perch — the fish
  23. root — the cause
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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