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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: bear · rock · land · cell · band · perch · drill · wake

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. perch — the fish
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. rock — a stone
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bear — the animal
  9. drill — army training
  10. land — a country
  11. bear — the animal
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. land — ground
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. cell — in biology
  16. band — a ring
  17. rock — music
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. wake — a trail
  22. drill — the tool
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. cell — a phone

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