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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 120 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. kid — child
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. firm — decided
  7. kid — to tease
  8. firm — a company
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. pound — a weight
  11. file — a line of people
  12. cold — an illness
  13. last — finally
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. cold — not warm
  17. firm — steady
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. file — a document
  20. perch — the fish
  21. last — final
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. last — to go on
  24. cold — the Cold War

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