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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bat — the animal
  3. cold — not warm
  4. date — the fruit
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. scale — size or range
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. scale — in music
  17. cold — an illness
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. perch — the fish

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