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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 common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. perch — the fish
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. season — in sport
  5. bear — the animal
  6. kid — to tease
  7. last — final
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. shower — rain
  10. season — of the year
  11. court — for sport
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. court — of a king
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bear — the animal
  17. last — finally
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. court — of law
  21. last — to go on
  22. kid — child
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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