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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bound — obliged
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. perch — the fish
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. stem — to come from
  9. ground — crushed
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cell — in biology
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. tear — from crying
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. ground — a position
  19. bound — certain
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. ground — the earth
  23. tear — from crying
  24. stem — a stem cell

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