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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 120 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. kid — child
  3. cold — not warm
  4. kid — to tease
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. cold — an illness
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. press — a publisher
  13. deal — to handle
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. press — to push
  16. wound — an injury
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. perch — the fish
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cell — a phone
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. press — newspapers

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