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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · wake · wind · bear · chair · perch

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. race — the arms race
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bear — the animal
  5. chair — a leader
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. wind — moving air
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. race — humankind
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bear — the animal
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. race — a contest

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