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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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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: wind · hand · saw · rule · toast · ball · rash · perch

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. ball — a dance
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. rule — a law
  6. ball — a great time
  7. rash — a series
  8. saw — the tool
  9. wind — moving air
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. rash — hasty
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. hand — in cards
  16. rule — government
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — help
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. perch — the fish
  24. toast — bread

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