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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. shower — rain
  3. bound — obliged
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. mine — for digging
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bound — tied together
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. branch — a division
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. shower — to wash
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. cold — not warm
  20. dip — to sink
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bound — certain
  24. cold — an illness

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