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

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. bank — of a river
  5. bank — for money
  6. kid — to tease
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a line of people
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. last — finally
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. file — a tool
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bank — for money
  16. scale — in music
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. kid — child
  19. wake — a trail
  20. perch — the fish
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. last — final
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. scale — size or range

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