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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. present — there
  4. present — a gift
  5. wound — an injury
  6. roll — a cake
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. pass — a permit
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wind — moving air
  14. perch — the fish
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. wind — moving air
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — an aim
  19. row — a line
  20. roll — a list
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. row — to paddle
  24. object — a thing

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