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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: net · perch · wound · club · ground · row · jam · temple

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. club — for golf
  4. ground — the earth
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. ground — crushed
  7. row — a line
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. wound — an injury
  12. perch — the fish
  13. net — after costs
  14. club — a group
  15. wound — an injury
  16. net — in sport
  17. club — for dancing
  18. net — for catching
  19. ground — a position
  20. row — to paddle
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. temple — side of the head

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