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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: perch · drill · stem · wind · saw · last · can · tube

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  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. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. saw — the tool
  5. can — a tin
  6. tube — a container
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stem — to come from
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. saw — the tool
  13. last — to go on
  14. tube — the underground
  15. perch — the fish
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. can — a tin
  18. drill — army training
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. drill — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. can — to be able to
  23. drill — a practice
  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