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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. club — for dancing
  3. branch — a division
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. club — for golf
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. lie — to recline
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. perch — the fish
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. mark — a trace
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wound — an injury
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. wound — an injury
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. club — a group
  24. mark — a grade

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