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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 116 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: fall · deal · wind · straw · perch · land · pitch · lie

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. land — a country
  4. fall — to drop
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. deal — to handle
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. pitch — completely
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — ground
  23. perch — the fish
  24. 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