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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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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: perch · object · sharp · saw · hand · lie · coach · row

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. sharp — clever
  3. hand — in cards
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. object — to protest
  7. perch — the fish
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. row — a line
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. saw — the tool
  14. object — a thing
  15. object — an aim
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. hand — help
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. lie — to recline
  22. row — to paddle
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. saw — the tool

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