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

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to bend
  5. tear — to rip
  6. key — in music
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. tear — from crying
  9. chair — a leader
  10. rush — hurry
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. shower — to wash
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. tear — from crying
  19. key — the most important part
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. key — for a lock
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — low music
  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