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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. hand — in cards
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. game — wild animals
  9. hand — help
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. perch — the fish
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. wound — an injury
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — of water
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. game — a match
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. wound — an injury

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