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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. file — a tool
  6. club — for dancing
  7. land — ground
  8. face — to confront
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — to wash
  11. file — a document
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. perch — the fish
  14. face — to point toward
  15. land — a country
  16. file — a line of people
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. club — a group
  19. dip — to sink
  20. club — for golf
  21. land — to come down
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lash — an eyelash

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