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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: can · cold · perch · cap · bound · roll · chest · tear

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. roll — a list
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chest — of your body
  8. can — a tin
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — tied together
  11. perch — the fish
  12. cold — an illness
  13. roll — a cake
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cap — a hat
  16. chest — a box
  17. tear — to rip
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cap — a lid
  21. can — to be able to
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bound — obliged

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