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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. club — for golf
  3. band — a ring
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. club — for dancing
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. shower — rain
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. band — a music group
  13. shower — to wash
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. pit — a hole
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. pit — in a race
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. club — a group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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