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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. stem — to come from
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. land — to come down
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. ground — a position
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. ground — the earth
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. land — a country
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. ground — crushed
  19. land — ground
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — to push
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pass — a permit

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