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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 120 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: cold · row · tube · file · wind · perch · mark · firm

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. row — to paddle
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — an illness
  5. mark — a grade
  6. firm — steady
  7. firm — decided
  8. file — a document
  9. tube — a container
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. firm — a company
  12. file — a tool
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a trace
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cold — not warm
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. wind — moving air
  20. row — a line
  21. perch — the fish
  22. tube — the underground
  23. file — a line of people
  24. tube — in a tire

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