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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: wind · tube · perch · file · pound · squash · foot · stem

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. perch — the fish
  6. foot — a measure
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. file — a document
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. squash — to crush
  12. file — a line of people
  13. tube — the underground
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wind — moving air
  19. file — a tool
  20. stem — to come from
  21. pound — a weight
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. tube — a container
  24. wind — to turn a key

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