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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rock — a stone
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rock — music
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. race — a contest
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. cell — a phone
  10. capital — a city
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. race — humankind
  13. perch — the fish
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. lean — to bend
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. tear — to rip
  20. lean — thin
  21. race — the arms race
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. capital — money
  24. cell — in biology

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