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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. shower — to wash
  3. lie — to recline
  4. row — to paddle
  5. perch — the fish
  6. shower — rain
  7. wound — an injury
  8. degree — temperature
  9. prune — to trim
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. degree — an amount
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bound — obliged
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bound — certain
  21. degree — from a university
  22. row — a line
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bound — tied together

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