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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. file — a document
  3. bat — the animal
  4. cue — a signal
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. spell — letters
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. lie — to recline
  9. game — a match
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. game — wild animals
  15. cue — a hint
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. spell — magic
  18. perch — the fish
  19. cue — for pool
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. file — a tool
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. spell — a short time
  24. file — a line of people

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