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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  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. chest — a box
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cap — of ice
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cap — a hat
  7. tube — the underground
  8. tube — a container
  9. last — final
  10. chest — of your body
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. rule — government
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally
  19. rule — a law
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cap — a lid
  23. coach — a trainer
  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