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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: land · tear · snap · perch · hide · row · present · bulb

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bulb — for light
  3. perch — the fish
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — a country
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. tear — from crying
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. tear — to rip
  11. present — the time now
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. present — there
  14. snap — to click
  15. row — a line
  16. tear — from crying
  17. row — to paddle
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. land — ground
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. present — a gift

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