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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. wound — an injury
  4. squash — the sport
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. chair — a leader
  12. shower — rain
  13. perch — the fish
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — a weight
  16. kick — in football
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. wound — an injury
  20. squash — to crush
  21. shower — to wash
  22. date — the fruit
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. date — on the calendar

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