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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 120 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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. spring — the season
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pit — a hole
  5. lean — thin
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. rest — a break
  8. game — wild animals
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. rest — what's left
  12. spring — a coil
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. pit — in a race
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. rest — what's left
  17. spring — of water
  18. game — a match
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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