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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. kid — child
  3. face — part of the head
  4. sharp — clever
  5. stem — to come from
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. face — to point toward
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — to tease
  14. perch — the fish
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. mine — for digging
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — hasty
  21. face — to confront
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. rash — on the skin

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