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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 116 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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. lean — thin
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — music
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. pop — to visit
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. shower — rain
  14. bear — the animal
  15. shower — to wash
  16. cell — in biology
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. lean — to bend

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