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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  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. chest — a box
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — rain
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. field — a subject
  9. perch — the fish
  10. fine — all right
  11. bore — to tire
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. chest — of your body
  16. field — for sport
  17. bore — to drill
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. field — farmland
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. shower — to wash
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. dip — to sink
  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