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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 · lie · face · chair · roll · perch · band · wake

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. face — part of the head
  7. wind — moving air
  8. lie — to recline
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. roll — a list
  12. band — a ring
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. perch — the fish
  15. roll — a cake
  16. chair — a leader
  17. face — to confront
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. face — to point toward
  24. perch — for a bird

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