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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. ball — a dance
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mug — a face
  7. perch — the fish
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. spring — a coil
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. mug — a cup
  14. spring — the season
  15. present — there
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. present — a gift
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mug — to rob
  20. ball — a great time
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. spring — of water
  24. present — the time now

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