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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. hand — in cards
  3. tear — from crying
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. hand — help
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. rush — hurry
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. tear — to rip
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. chip — for betting
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chip — to eat
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. perch — the fish
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bat — in an idiom

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