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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bat — the animal
  12. fall — to drop
  13. tube — the underground
  14. season — in sport
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. perch — the fish
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. season — of the year
  20. shower — rain
  21. fall — to drop
  22. tube — a container
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — to wash

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