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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bear — the animal
  5. dip — to sink
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. ground — the earth
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. bear — the animal
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. shower — to wash
  12. land — a country
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — a position
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. land — to come down
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. squash — to crush
  23. shower — rain
  24. squash — the sport

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