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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. tear — from crying
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. court — of law
  7. tear — from crying
  8. perch — the fish
  9. cap — a hat
  10. craft — boats
  11. tear — to rip
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. craft — a skill
  14. sharp — clever
  15. court — of a king
  16. stem — to come from
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. court — for sport
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. cap — of ice
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. kick — in football
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. cap — a lid

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