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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. perch — the fish
  4. ground — a position
  5. firm — a company
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. firm — steady
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. stem — to come from
  12. mine — for digging
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. ground — crushed
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. ground — the earth
  17. pit — in a race
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. pit — a hole
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. firm — decided
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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