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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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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: saw · toast · wind · rock · perch · hide · chest · date

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. rock — to move gently
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. date — the fruit
  6. toast — bread
  7. chest — of your body
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. rock — music
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. saw — the tool
  15. chest — a box
  16. perch — the fish
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. rock — a stone
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. saw — the tool
  23. wind — moving air
  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