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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. cell — in biology
  5. club — for golf
  6. club — for dancing
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. sharp — clever
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. cell — a phone
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. club — a group
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. stand — to bear
  16. bear — the animal
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. perch — the fish
  19. shower — to wash
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bear — the animal
  22. shower — rain
  23. bat — the animal
  24. sharp — with an edge

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