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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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Word bank
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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. perch — the fish
  3. object — to protest
  4. charge — electricity
  5. charge — a price
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. club — for golf
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. band — a ring
  10. cell — in biology
  11. band — a music group
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. object — an aim
  14. charge — in control
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — a phone
  18. wind — moving air
  19. club — for dancing
  20. prune — to trim
  21. club — a group
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. wind — moving air

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