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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: land · rule · perch · dip · patient · arm · mate · wind

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. mate — to breed
  3. wind — moving air
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mate — a friend
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — a law
  13. dip — to sink
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. land — a country
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. perch — the fish
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. land — to come down
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. mate — a partner
  24. patient — a sick person

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