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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: perch · wind · pound · face · cold · safe · object · last

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. wind — moving air
  7. last — final
  8. last — to go on
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. object — an aim
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. wind — moving air
  16. object — to protest
  17. face — part of the head
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pound — a weight
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. perch — the fish
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — to confront
  24. last — finally

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