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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. band — a ring
  3. tear — from crying
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. vault — a safe
  6. kid — to tease
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bat — the animal
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. tear — to rip
  23. band — a music group
  24. leaves — to go away

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