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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  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. shower — to wash
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. spring — the season
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — help
  7. spring — of water
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. spring — a coil
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. rock — a stone
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — to be able to
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. rock — music
  20. can — a tin
  21. lie — to recline
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. hand — part of the body
  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