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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — to wash
  5. last — final
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. shower — rain
  9. last — to go on
  10. foot — a measure
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. perch — the fish
  13. hand — in cards
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. last — finally
  16. hand — help
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mark — a grade

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