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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cold — an illness
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a ring
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. cue — a hint
  10. perch — the fish
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. face — to point toward
  15. cue — a signal
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. cold — not warm
  18. face — to confront
  19. pound — a weight
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. cue — for pool
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. face — part of the head
  24. pound — for dogs

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