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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 124 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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. roll — a list
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. root — the cause
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bat — the animal
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — music
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. mine — for digging
  20. root — of a plant
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. swing — in golf
  23. roll — a cake
  24. root — of a word

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