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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: rest · march · wind · tube · perch · date · bay · bowl

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. march — music
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. march — the month
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. rest — what's left
  14. date — the fruit
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. tube — the underground
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. perch — the fish
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. march — the month
  23. tube — a container
  24. rest — a break

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