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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.

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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — the fish
  3. press — to push
  4. hand — help
  5. stem — to come from
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. track — a path
  8. bat — the animal
  9. track — a song
  10. press — newspapers
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. track — to keep track
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. fine — high quality
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. hand — in cards
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. press — a publisher
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. fine — all right
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. date — the fruit

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