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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. present — a gift
  3. shower — rain
  4. prune — to trim
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. race — humankind
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — the fish
  9. race — the arms race
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. content — happy
  13. present — there
  14. content — the amount
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. shower — to wash
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. race — a contest
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. present — the time now

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