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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. staff — a stick
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. lean — thin
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. pound — a weight
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. staff — employees
  17. kick — in football
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. scale — in music
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. staff — employees
  23. scale — size or range
  24. lean — to bend

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