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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: board · row · season · net · wound · wind · tear · perch

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. net — for catching
  4. perch — the fish
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wound — an injury
  7. season — of the year
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. row — to paddle
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. board — to get on
  12. net — after costs
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. board — a committee
  15. season — in sport
  16. net — in sport
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wind — moving air
  20. row — a line
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wound — an injury
  24. tear — to rip

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