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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — the season
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. kick — in football
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. clip — to cut
  11. fall — to drop
  12. craft — boats
  13. clip — a video
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. present — a gift
  17. clip — for paper
  18. present — there
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. perch — the fish
  21. shower — rain
  22. present — the time now
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. craft — a skill

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