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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. squash — to crush
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. tube — the underground
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. tube — a container
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. rash — a series
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. chest — of your body
  13. squash — the sport
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rash — hasty
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. tear — to rip
  24. chest — a box

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