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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 116 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: land · row · perch · last · stand · prune · kid · field

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. land — ground
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. perch — the fish
  5. kid — to tease
  6. land — to come down
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. kid — child
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. stand — to bear
  11. field — farmland
  12. last — finally
  13. row — a line
  14. last — to go on
  15. land — a country
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. last — final
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. row — to paddle

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