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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 120 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fall — to drop
  3. kid — child
  4. spring — a coil
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. fine — all right
  8. spring — the season
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. perch — the fish
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. fall — the season
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. spring — of water
  17. wound — an injury
  18. shower — rain
  19. kid — to tease
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. fall — to drop
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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