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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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468
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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. band — a ring
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. lean — thin
  6. bear — the animal
  7. band — a music group
  8. file — a tool
  9. mate — a partner
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. file — a document
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. file — a line of people
  16. mate — to breed
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — in football
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bear — the animal
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. mate — a friend
  24. lean — to bend

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