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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bound — certain
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bound — tied together
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. last — final
  9. hand — in cards
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. last — finally
  14. row — a line
  15. bound — obliged
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. spring — of water
  18. last — to go on
  19. prune — to trim
  20. perch — the fish
  21. spring — a coil
  22. hand — help
  23. spring — the season
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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