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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. perch — the fish
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. can — to be able to
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. can — a tin
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cold — not warm
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. can — a tin
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. pitch — completely
  19. file — a document
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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