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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. spring — the season
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. shower — to wash
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. perch — the fish
  13. content — happy
  14. cold — not warm
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. spring — of water
  20. shower — rain
  21. cold — an illness
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. spring — a coil
  24. content — the amount

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