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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: key · wake · rule · fall · clip · perch · saw · tube

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. fall — to drop
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. key — the most important part
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. perch — the fish
  9. clip — for paper
  10. key — in music
  11. rule — government
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wake — a trail
  14. saw — the tool
  15. key — for a lock
  16. fall — the season
  17. rule — a law
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — a container
  21. clip — a video
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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