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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — the fish
  3. season — of the year
  4. shower — rain
  5. cell — in biology
  6. shower — to wash
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. vault — a safe
  10. cell — a phone
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. last — to go on
  15. bat — the animal
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. last — final
  18. season — in sport
  19. last — finally
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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