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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. bat — the animal
  3. staff — a stick
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. staff — employees
  7. cap — a hat
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. spring — of water
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — the season
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. staff — employees
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — final
  18. last — finally
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. perch — the fish
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cap — a lid

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