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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. land — to come down
  3. kick — in football
  4. shower — to wash
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. shower — rain
  7. wound — an injury
  8. land — ground
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. mug — to rob
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. face — to confront
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. land — a country
  19. face — to point toward
  20. face — part of the head
  21. cold — not warm
  22. mug — a cup
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. mug — a face

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