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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. shower — to wash
  4. season — in sport
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. row — to paddle
  7. cell — in biology
  8. season — of the year
  9. kid — child
  10. shower — rain
  11. object — a thing
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. object — an aim
  15. perch — the fish
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. kid — to tease
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. object — to protest
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. cell — a phone

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