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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mug — a face
  4. shower — to wash
  5. mug — a cup
  6. perch — the fish
  7. kick — in football
  8. fall — the season
  9. fall — to drop
  10. board — to get on
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. cold — not warm
  13. shower — rain
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mug — to rob
  16. squash — to crush
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. squash — the sport
  20. board — a committee
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. fall — to drop
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. kick — with a leg

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