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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: perch · bark · fall · field · board · row · cell · firm

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. firm — decided
  3. row — to paddle
  4. cell — a phone
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. board — a committee
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bark — to shout
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. fall — to drop
  12. firm — steady
  13. fall — to drop
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. field — farmland
  19. board — to get on
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. firm — a company
  22. fall — the season
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — a subject

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