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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: ball · wind · perch · spring · kid · fan · temple · toast

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. spring — a coil
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. ball — a great time
  7. spring — the season
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. toast — bread
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. spring — of water
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. wind — moving air
  19. perch — the fish
  20. ball — a dance
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — to tease
  24. ball — a round shape

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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