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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: hide · bear · wind · perch · rest · row · pass · land

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. bear — the animal
  3. pass — a permit
  4. land — a country
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. rest — a break
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. land — ground
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. rest — what's left
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wind — moving air
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a line
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. rest — what's left
  22. perch — the fish
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. land — to come down

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