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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: lie · pound · wind · rule · ball · perch · mate · chest

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. pound — a weight
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. ball — a great time
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. chest — a box
  8. rule — government
  9. lie — to recline
  10. perch — the fish
  11. ball — a dance
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. mate — a partner
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. wind — moving air
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. mate — to breed
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. rule — a law
  24. chest — of your body

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