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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. drill — army training
  3. perch — the fish
  4. drill — a practice
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. land — ground
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. wind — moving air
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. drill — the tool
  12. shower — to wash
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. shower — rain
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. wind — moving air
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. capital — a city
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. land — a country

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