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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.

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: saw · perch · wind · land · hand · lean · band · bowl

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. wind — moving air
  3. land — a country
  4. lean — thin
  5. saw — the tool
  6. lean — to bend
  7. land — to come down
  8. saw — the tool
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. land — ground
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. band — a music group
  18. hand — help
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. hand — in cards
  21. perch — the fish
  22. band — a ring
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bowl — a football final

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