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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. game — a match
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. scale — size or range
  7. perch — the fish
  8. fall — to drop
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. fall — the season
  16. bat — the animal
  17. scale — in music
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. fall — to drop
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — wild animals
  24. chair — a leader

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