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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 116 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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bound — tied together
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. rest — what's left
  6. row — a line
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fall — the season
  9. perch — the fish
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bound — obliged
  13. pop — soda
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pop — music
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. row — to paddle
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. bound — certain
  20. shower — to wash
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — a break
  23. pop — to visit
  24. perch — for a bird

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