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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. perch — the fish
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. stand — to bear
  6. file — a line of people
  7. ground — crushed
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. rash — hasty
  10. kick — in football
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. file — a document
  14. prune — to trim
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. ground — the earth
  18. prune — to trim
  19. file — a tool
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. ground — a position
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rash — a series

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