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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cap — a lid
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mug — a face
  7. saw — the tool
  8. drill — army training
  9. cap — a hat
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cap — of ice
  12. fall — to drop
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. mug — to rob
  16. mug — a cup
  17. drill — a practice
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. saw — the tool
  21. drill — the tool
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wind — moving air
  24. perch — for a bird

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