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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. can — to be able to
  5. spring — of water
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. fall — the season
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. fine — high quality
  10. scale — in music
  11. fall — to drop
  12. scale — size or range
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. spring — a coil
  15. branch — a division
  16. fine — all right
  17. fall — to drop
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. spring — the season
  20. can — a tin
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. can — a tin

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