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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wound — an injury
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. wound — an injury
  5. board — a committee
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. tear — from crying
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. cell — in biology
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. cell — a phone
  12. last — to go on
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. board — to get on
  19. tear — from crying
  20. last — finally
  21. kid — child
  22. perch — the fish
  23. last — final
  24. kid — to tease

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