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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 116 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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  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. pop — music
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bound — certain
  4. rash — a series
  5. pop — soda
  6. perch — the fish
  7. march — the month
  8. object — an aim
  9. object — to protest
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. shower — to wash
  12. rash — hasty
  13. object — a thing
  14. pop — to visit
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bound — tied together
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. march — music
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. shower — rain
  23. march — the month
  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