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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. race — a contest
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. spring — a coil
  5. perch — the fish
  6. wake — a trail
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — the arms race
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. row — a line
  20. spring — of water
  21. lean — thin
  22. row — to paddle
  23. lean — to bend
  24. spring — the season

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