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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cold · land · wake · pitcher · cue · perch · can · wind

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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 — the fish
  2. cue — for pool
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. can — to be able to
  5. cue — a hint
  6. cue — a signal
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. land — a country
  9. cold — not warm
  10. land — ground
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — a trail
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. wind — moving air
  17. can — a tin
  18. land — to come down
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. can — a tin
  23. wind — moving air
  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