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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. kid — to tease
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. vault — a safe
  5. row — a line
  6. rash — hasty
  7. row — to paddle
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rash — a series
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. perch — the fish
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. bear — the animal
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. bear — the animal
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — child
  23. leaves — lets stay
  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