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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. fall — to drop
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. shower — to wash
  5. game — a match
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. present — there
  9. perch — the fish
  10. game — wild animals
  11. ball — a dance
  12. fall — to drop
  13. present — the time now
  14. shower — rain
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — after costs
  18. ball — a great time
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. fall — the season
  21. present — a gift
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. net — for catching
  24. stem — to come from

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