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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 120 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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. march — the month
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. cold — an illness
  6. hand — help
  7. march — music
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — for money
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. bank — of a river
  14. rest — a break
  15. perch — the fish
  16. rest — what's left
  17. hand — in cards
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. march — the month
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. sharp — clever
  24. cold — not warm

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