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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 120 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
468
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 · bear · present · chip · perch · fan · mine · leaves

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. present — the time now
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. bear — the animal
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. present — a gift
  11. cold — an illness
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bear — the animal
  15. chip — to eat
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. present — there
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. mine — for digging
  24. chip — for betting

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