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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 116 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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. mug — a face
  4. kid — to tease
  5. spell — a short time
  6. swing — in golf
  7. chair — a leader
  8. kid — child
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — rain
  11. perch — the fish
  12. spell — magic
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bear — the animal
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. mug — to rob
  17. mug — a cup
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. swing — music
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. spell — letters
  24. bear — the animal

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