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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — help
  4. cap — a hat
  5. fall — to drop
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. tear — from crying
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cap — a lid
  14. tear — from crying
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. fall — to drop
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. hand — in cards
  19. tear — to rip
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wake — a trail
  23. fall — the season
  24. cap — of ice

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