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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. lean — thin
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. net — for catching
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. perch — the fish
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. cold — not warm
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. cold — an illness
  20. net — after costs
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. net — in sport
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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