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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. rest — a break
  3. mate — to breed
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. can — to be able to
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. can — a tin
  9. rest — what's left
  10. scale — in music
  11. mate — a friend
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. shower — to wash
  14. can — a tin
  15. rest — what's left
  16. mate — a partner
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. game — a match
  19. game — wild animals
  20. shower — rain
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. perch — the fish
  24. shower — a meteor shower

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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