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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: mate · cell · wind · perch · wake · pitcher · cue · straw

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. cell — a phone
  4. perch — the fish
  5. cue — a hint
  6. cell — in biology
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — a friend
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. cue — for pool
  14. mate — to breed
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. cue — a signal
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — a jug

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