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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. scale — size or range
  5. band — a ring
  6. bank — of a river
  7. fall — to drop
  8. land — ground
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bank — for money
  11. fall — to drop
  12. scale — in music
  13. band — a music group
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mark — a trace
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. wind — moving air
  20. land — to come down
  21. fall — the season
  22. mark — a grade
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bank — for money

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