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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 120 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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. stem — to come from
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — a practice
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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