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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 will it ________________ you to start?
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  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. suit — to fit
  2. file — a document
  3. perch — the fish
  4. suit — in cards
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. wind — moving air
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bear — the animal
  10. file — a line of people
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. file — a tool
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. suit — clothes
  17. wind — moving air
  18. field — for sport
  19. bear — the animal
  20. field — a subject
  21. shower — to wash
  22. field — farmland
  23. shower — rain
  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