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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. foot — a measure
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. track — a song
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. track — a path
  10. stem — to come from
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. track — to keep track
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. perch — the fish
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. nail — for a hammer

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