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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. cap — a lid
  3. row — a line
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cap — of ice
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. cap — a hat
  9. perch — the fish
  10. mark — a grade
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bulb — for light
  14. rest — a break
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bulb — for light
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. mark — a trace
  19. chest — a box
  20. rest — what's left
  21. row — to paddle
  22. chest — of your body
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. rest — what's left

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