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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. ball — a dance
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. ball — a great time
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. perch — the fish
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bear — the animal
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bank — of a river
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bank — for money
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bank — for money

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