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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: wax · row · roll · court · chest · tear · perch · bark

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. roll — a list
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. roll — a cake
  7. court — of a king
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. tear — to rip
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. wax — to grow
  16. chest — a box
  17. bark — to shout
  18. row — a line
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of law
  21. chest — of your body
  22. perch — the fish
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. chest — of your body

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