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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. wake — a trail
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. tube — the underground
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. object — to protest
  10. object — an aim
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. perch — the fish
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. tube — a container
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. bat — the animal
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. row — a line
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. row — to paddle

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