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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. hand — help
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wound — an injury
  8. spell — letters
  9. perch — the fish
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. wound — an injury
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bound — certain
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. chair — a leader
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bound — obliged
  21. spell — magic
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. hand — in cards
  24. shower — rain

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