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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: last · charge · perch · tube · calf · cold · mine · wake

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. mine — for digging
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — the underground
  5. charge — a price
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. cold — an illness
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. charge — electricity
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wake — a trail
  17. charge — in control
  18. last — finally
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. perch — the fish
  21. last — to go on
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. last — final

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