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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: wake · tube · mine · kid · wind · rest · perch · fine

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. fine — high quality
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. rest — what's left
  7. wind — moving air
  8. kid — child
  9. wake — a trail
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. mine — for digging
  12. tube — the underground
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. kid — to tease
  19. rest — a break
  20. tube — a container
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fine — all right
  24. perch — for a bird

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