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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  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. straw — dry grass
  2. spring — the season
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. face — to confront
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. face — part of the head
  7. spell — a short time
  8. press — to push
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a document
  13. face — to point toward
  14. shower — to wash
  15. spring — of water
  16. spell — letters
  17. spring — a coil
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. press — a publisher
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. press — newspapers
  22. shower — rain
  23. spell — magic
  24. perch — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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