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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: cap · fall · hide · perch · wake · court · mouse · last

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. wake — a trail
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cap — a hat
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. cap — a lid
  8. court — of a king
  9. last — to go on
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. fall — to drop
  14. court — for sport
  15. fall — to drop
  16. perch — the fish
  17. last — final
  18. last — finally
  19. cap — of ice
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. court — of law
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. fall — the season

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