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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: bank · march · row · straw · swing · kid · perch · craft

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. bank — for money
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. swing — to play on
  7. craft — a skill
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. craft — boats
  10. bank — for money
  11. march — music
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bank — of a river
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. row — a line
  17. kid — to tease
  18. march — the month
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. march — the month
  21. swing — music
  22. kid — child
  23. swing — in golf
  24. perch — the fish

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