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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. toast — bread
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. cell — a phone
  8. key — in music
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. capital — a city
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. capital — money
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — for a lock
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. shower — to wash

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