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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cold — an illness
  4. row — a line
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. row — to paddle
  8. can — to be able to
  9. can — a tin
  10. pitch — completely
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. perch — the fish
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. branch — a division
  21. rest — what's left
  22. can — a tin
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. rest — what's left

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