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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. scale — in music
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cell — in biology
  7. wake — a trail
  8. bear — the animal
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cap — of ice
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. scale — size or range
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cap — a hat
  21. perch — the fish
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cell — in a prison

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