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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. row — to paddle
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. tear — from crying
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. tear — from crying
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — for sport
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. field — farmland
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. tear — to rip
  16. perch — the fish
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. mark — a grade
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mark — a trace
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. straw — dry grass

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