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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. can — to be able to
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. cold — an illness
  8. branch — a division
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. can — a tin
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. perch — the fish
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. sharp — clever
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cold — not warm
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. can — a tin
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pit — a hole

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