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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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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: lie · perch · bulb · chip · last · hand · cap · wind

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — the fish
  4. last — to go on
  5. lie — to recline
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bulb — for light
  10. cap — a hat
  11. chip — to eat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. hand — help
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. chip — for betting
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. hand — in cards
  20. cap — of ice
  21. last — final
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. last — finally
  24. chip — in a computer

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