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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: face · wind · pound · sharp · perch · mouse · wound · game

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. sharp — clever
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. face — part of the head
  8. wind — moving air
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. perch — the fish
  12. wound — an injury
  13. face — to point toward
  14. game — a match
  15. face — to confront
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. game — wild animals
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. pound — a weight
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. game — a kind of play

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