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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. hand — help
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. lean — to bend
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. dip — to sink
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. net — for catching
  11. shower — to wash
  12. pit — in a race
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. mine — for digging
  15. hand — in cards
  16. pit — a hole
  17. net — in sport
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. net — after costs
  22. perch — the fish
  23. lean — thin
  24. shower — rain

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