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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: band · land · perch · wind · row · last · wave · pitch

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. row — to paddle
  3. perch — the fish
  4. land — a country
  5. last — final
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. pitch — completely
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. land — ground
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. last — to go on
  15. row — a line
  16. last — finally
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. band — a ring
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. land — to come down

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