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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. tube — the underground
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — a stick
  5. spring — of water
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. staff — employees
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. object — an aim
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rule — government
  15. spring — a coil
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. object — to protest
  18. spring — the season
  19. tube — a container
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rule — a law
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. object — a thing
  24. wind — to turn a key

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