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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 120 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: kid · perch · mate · chest · mouse · staff · tube · wind

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. kid — child
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. kid — to tease
  5. chest — a box
  6. tube — a container
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. staff — employees
  11. mate — a friend
  12. tube — the underground
  13. wind — moving air
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. perch — the fish
  18. staff — employees
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. staff — a stick
  21. mate — a partner
  22. wind — moving air
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. chest — of your body

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