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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: wind · dip · perch · cabinet · last · chair · file · bear

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. dip — to sink
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. last — to go on
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. bear — the animal
  11. last — final
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. last — finally
  15. perch — the fish
  16. file — a tool
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chair — a leader
  19. wind — moving air
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a line of people
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — ministers

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