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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. land — a country
  3. face — part of the head
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. face — to confront
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a match
  11. prune — to trim
  12. land — to come down
  13. prune — to trim
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. race — a contest
  16. tube — a container
  17. bat — the animal
  18. tube — the underground
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — humankind
  21. perch — the fish
  22. face — to point toward
  23. land — ground
  24. prune — the fruit

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