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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pound — a weight
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. fall — to drop
  8. land — to come down
  9. fall — the season
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. shower — to wash
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. land — ground
  14. fall — to drop
  15. shower — rain
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. kick — in football
  19. sharp — clever
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. land — a country
  23. perch — the fish
  24. perch — for a bird

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