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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: fall · tube · wind · perch · kick · root · rash · band

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. root — the cause
  4. perch — the fish
  5. wind — moving air
  6. band — a music group
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — a series
  9. fall — to drop
  10. root — of a word
  11. band — a ring
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — in football
  14. wind — moving air
  15. root — of a plant
  16. fall — the season
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. tube — a container
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. tube — the underground
  21. fall — to drop
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. tube — in a tire

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