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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 120 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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. file — a tool
  3. kid — to tease
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. land — a country
  14. file — a line of people
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. land — to come down
  17. bank — of a river
  18. bank — for money
  19. land — ground
  20. bank — for money
  21. band — a music group
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. kid — child
  24. file — a document

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