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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. mate — a friend
  6. shower — to wash
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. foot — a measure
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. date — the fruit
  13. mate — a partner
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. bat — the animal
  19. shower — rain
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. mate — to breed
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. date — on the calendar

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