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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bear — the animal
  4. spring — of water
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. kid — child
  8. key — in music
  9. pitch — completely
  10. perch — the fish
  11. wind — moving air
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. bear — the animal
  15. spring — a coil
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. spring — the season
  20. key — the most important part
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. key — for a lock
  24. wind — to turn a key

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