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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 120 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: mine · chest · perch · ball · tear · mouse · bay · row

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. row — to paddle
  4. perch — the fish
  5. chest — of your body
  6. tear — from crying
  7. ball — a great time
  8. mine — for digging
  9. chest — of your body
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. ball — a dance
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. row — a line
  21. tear — from crying
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. chest — a box
  24. perch — for a bird

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