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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: perch · cold · wave · present · bear · roll · arm · file

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. present — the time now
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. perch — the fish
  5. file — a document
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. roll — a list
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. present — there
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. cold — an illness
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. present — a gift
  22. bear — the animal
  23. file — a tool
  24. cold — the Cold War

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