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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. tube — the underground
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. land — to come down
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. saw — the tool
  11. game — a match
  12. wound — an injury
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. saw — the tool
  15. land — a country
  16. wind — moving air
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. game — wild animals
  19. wind — moving air
  20. land — ground
  21. perch — the fish
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. tube — a container

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