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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: fall · rest · mine · bowl · cell · pound · last · perch

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. cell — in biology
  4. rest — what's left
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. rest — a break
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. fall — the season
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. last — finally
  15. cell — a phone
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. rest — what's left
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. pound — a weight
  20. mine — for digging
  21. fall — to drop
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. fall — to drop

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