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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. tube — a container
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. perch — the fish
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. tube — the underground
  15. scale — size or range
  16. drill — the tool
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. drill — army training
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. scale — in music
  22. drill — a practice
  23. lie — to recline
  24. trunk — of a tree

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