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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. spring — a coil
  6. present — a gift
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. rash — a series
  10. dip — to sink
  11. rash — hasty
  12. ball — a dance
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. spring — the season
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. race — humankind
  18. spring — of water
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. perch — the fish
  21. present — the time now
  22. race — the arms race
  23. ball — a great time
  24. race — a contest

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