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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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Word bank
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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: wake · perch · kick · bear · wind · present

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. wind — moving air
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bear — the animal
  5. wake — a trail
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. bear — the animal
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — there
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. perch — for a bird

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