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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. row — a line
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. bound — obliged
  7. chest — of your body
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rash — a series
  10. present — the time now
  11. chest — a box
  12. present — a gift
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bound — certain
  15. rash — hasty
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — humankind
  18. present — there
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. race — a contest
  22. perch — the fish
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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