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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. object — a thing
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. mate — a friend
  8. race — humankind
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. object — an aim
  13. mate — to breed
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — the arms race
  16. cold — not warm
  17. kick — in football
  18. mate — a partner
  19. scale — size or range
  20. object — to protest
  21. scale — in music
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bat — the animal

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