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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
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: ground · mate · fall · perch · straw · file · bound · bulb

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. mate — to breed
  3. file — a tool
  4. perch — the fish
  5. mate — a friend
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bound — certain
  8. file — a document
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. ground — a position
  12. fall — the season
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bulb — for light
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bound — tied together
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bulb — for light
  19. mate — a partner
  20. ground — crushed
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. ground — the earth
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. file — a line of people

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